Nico Betrayed
by Lizzy721
Summary: Nico is abandoned by the demigods. He gains some powerful new patrons and is sent on a mission to Hogwarts to help them recover after their war. Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan or JK Rowling
1. Chapter 1 - Patrons

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome, and please let me know if there's a grammar mistake or anything, but please, please, please, constructive criticism only! I don't want to see any hate or anything. And yes, solangelo is really cute, but I'm not comfortable writing any romantic relationships, and I needed a really big problem to start my story...Sorry. Enjoy! **

Chapter One  
Nico was confused. He'd woken up in a hospital type bed, but couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. Everything in the room was white, except for the small fire burning on a tiny black alter in the corner. He thought back, but couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. Then it suddenly all came rushing back. Will kissing some girl from Demeter, everyone mocking him for thinking that he'd ever be accepted. Even Reyna and Hazel, who'd promised him that they'd always love him, had turned away in quiet disappointment. Jason, the first person ever to hear his confession about Percy, had shut the door in his face when he'd come to escape the others. As far as Nico knew, everyone, except possibly Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia, hated him. After nearly a week of shunning from the entire camp, he'd been suddenly called to Olympus. Zeus had Asclepius and Hygeia examine him, who had announced that Nico's mental health was so bad that it was recommended that he be banned from camp and other demigods until he was stable. When Nico looked around for help, the other gods just looked away.

Hades looked directly at him and shook his head slightly, face impassive. Nico could practically feel the words vibrating through him. "You should've died... your sister was always better... immature, irresponsible, reckless..." He wanted to curl up and cry in the corner but knew that showing weakness would only reinforce the Gods' conclusions. Desperate, he looked around one more time and saw Hestia suddenly appear at the edge of her hearth.

"Come, Nico di Angelo, I will take you in. You have suffered much, yet you're still that innocent boy who stopped and talked to me within the heart at Camp Half-Blood somewhere deep inside. Come, brave protector of Olympus, and rest at my hearth." She opened her arms and Nico almost ran to her, collapsing into her welcoming embrace. She stroked his hair, whispering softly, "Come, child, and be at peace."

—LINE BREAK—

Nico looked around the white room and jumped when the door suddenly opened. "Ahh, Sleeping Beauty awakens!" It was a short young man, who looks about twenty years old, with light brown hair and eyes and a wide smile plastered on his face. He shrugged when Nico didn't respond and turned away, still grinning broadly, checking the machines that Nico was hooked up to. "Looks like you're all good to go, my friend! It's your lucky day." He disconnected the wires from Nico's hand and arm, then carefully placed a hand on his wrist, checking the pulse. The action was so familiar to what Will used to do whenever he got hurt Nico's throat clogged and his eyes started to burn.

"What am I doing here, why would not be 'good to go', and who the heck are you?" He said angrily, trying to hide his emotional state from the young man. Nico swung his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up, black starbursts dancing before his eyes.

"Well, you had the symptoms of major depressive disorder," the man said as he caught Nico as he began to waver. He continued slowly, "and severe malnutrition and dehydration." He looked over his shoulder. "That's my cue to leave and let m'lady explain everything to you. Good luck, kid! Hope you don't need it." He gently let go of Nico after he was sure he wasn't about to fall over.

"Thank you, Walter," Hestia said as she walked into the room. Nico immediately bowed deeply when he saw her. Hestia raised her eyebrow at him, gestured for him to rise as Walter left the room. "How are you feeling, child?" She asked gently, looking him over carefully. He rose slowly, still exhausted, and tried not to let the pain show on his face.

"I'm fine, m'lady. Thank you for giving me refuge in your temple. I'll just go now..." he trailed off. _"She's probably only letting me stay here out of pity. She definitely wants me gone as soon as possible, just like everybody else would."_ Nico thought sadly.

Hestia grabbed his shoulder with surprising force. "Nico di Angelo! Stop your train of thought right now! You are not worthless, you are not completely alone, and you are not leaving this temple until you get your life together and find a new purpose in life! You are not leaving and wasting all my hard work and committing suicide just because your idiot father and friends have thrown away one of the best things that happened to Camp Half-Blood!" Nico looked down, ashamed and embarrassed that she knew his thoughts. "Nico," she said gently, letting go of his arm and putting her hand on his cheek, "I care, and not all of your friends have left you. Not all the gods have betrayed you. Percy and Annabeth care. Sally Jackson and her husband care. Thalia cares. And," she paused, looking over her shoulder, "I have three more goddesses who definitely care, and want to say something to you." The door opened again. Hecate, Artemis, and Lupa walked in, and Nico bowed deeply to them as well.

"Rise, hero," Hecate commanded, "and listen to our proposal." Nico slowly rose and felt Hestia's hand on his shoulder. "Nico di Angelo," Hecate said softly, "will you be my champion?" Nico just gaped at her, dumbfounded. "My children are trying, but I have many tasks that even the strongest among them are unable to complete, and I have found none so worthy or capable as you. I know you have gone through much, but with these new blessings, you should be able to overcome them. It will help you regain your lost purpose and heal your pained heart." Nico nodded, overwhelmed at her words.

"Yes, Lady Hecate, I will accept your blessing and become your champion." He dropped to one knee and bowed his head as she shot a light forest green beam of light into his heart. The light coursed through him, and he felt a sudden pain in his chest.

Hecate stepped forward and helped him rise. "You have the ability to manipulate the mist as well as my best children, and the ability to perform many other kinds of magic, which I will help you with at a later time." She nodded, pleased, and stepped back. Then Artemis stepped forward before he could say anything.

"Nico di Angelo, your sister was my hunter and died bravely in battle. Along with Percy Jackson, you are one of the few decent males of this time. I also wish for you to become my champion, and bestow a blessing on you." Nico looked at her, dumbfounded. "I have my hunters, but as faithful and useful as they are, I have some situations where a single individual, one who is slightly more adept at blending in and finding information, especially from other males, is useful. Do you accept?"

"Yes, Lady Artemis, I would be beyond honored," Nico said, as he dropped to one knee and bowed his head as he did with Hecate. Artemis shot a silvery beam of light into his heart, and once again he felt pain in his heart.

She helped him rise and said, "You have partial immortality, same as my hunters, but have also gained the ability to shift into a wolf upon command and shoot a bow and arrow as well as my best hunters. Your tracking and camouflage skills have also increased." Lupa stepped forward and nudged his hand.

She spoke into his head, "Pup, I have seen your trials and am proud of your strength. Though I never trained you, you are accepted into my pack and are a child of Rome. I also give you my blessing, something I have not given since Romulus and Remus." Nico bowed deeply, stunned. A beam of golden and silver light shot into his heart, and she continued, "you have the ability to shift into a wolf, now, and all wolves will obey your call, for you are an alpha."

"Thank you so much, m'ladies," Nico stammered. "I..."

Hestia cut his thanks off. "Nico, I too, would give you my blessing, and ask you to become my champion...and my son?" She said, sounding almost nervous.

"Lady Hestia, I," Nico said, overwhelmed. "I don't know what to say. Yes, I would love to become your champion and son!" He cried, traitorous tears welling in his eyes. She hugged him tight, then let go and he dropped to his knee and bowed before her. Smiling broadly, she shot a beam of soft red-orange light into his heart, and he gasped as the now-familiar pain entered his heart.

As he rose, she said, "you now have the ability to control any type of fire, and summon any kind of food you desire. In addition to your shadow traveling, which you can now do free from fear of fading, you can fire travel."

"Thank you so much, Ladies. I will try to live up to the honor you have bestowed on me." Nico said, bowing deeply.

Hestia smiled at him and said, "We now ask for your oath of loyalty. Are you willing to swear this, our champion?" Nico nodded as he knelt for the fourth time.

"I swear my loyalty to Lady Hecate, Lady Artemis, Lady Lupa, and Lady Hestia on the River Styx. I swear to obey any commands they ask of me and pledge my first loyalty to them and those under their protection." He bowed his head and waited for their response.

In unison, they said, "We accept your oath of loyalty, Nico di Angelo, and grant you one final blessing. You shall have the ability to learn and speak any language, whether animal, human, or other." As one, they reached forward and placed a hand or a paw on his head. He felt a tingling, burning sensation in his left arm and looked down to see a tattoo creep up his hand and arm to cover his arm, almost to the shoulder. He watched in awe as the swirling patterns of black formed intricate pictures. A flame curled around his fingers, rising to mingle with swirls of mist and sparkly brambles. Running gracefully through it all was a wolf pack under a full moon, twining together in an intricate dance. Another sudden tingle blazed on the inside of his right wrist. Five symbols appeared, a flame, a swirl of mist, a moon with a bow and arrow hidden inside, a running wolf, and a skull combined with a gem. The symbols of Hestia, Hecate, Artemis, Lupa, and his father, Hades. He smiled because even though his father had practically rejected and disowned him, the symbol meant he still was and had the powers of a son of Hades. "Rise, our champion." The goddesses said after the tattoos had formed. He nodded and rose, overwhelmed by the emotions rushing through him. Gratitude, happiness, loyalty, purpose, peace, mixed with the still bitter sting of betrayal and loss from earlier. Artemis smiled at him, sensing his torrent of emotion.

"Nico di Angelo, we each have another gift for you, now that you have sworn the oath of loyalty. I give you three gifts. First, a tent that can collapse into a package the size of a handkerchief. Second, a bow that can change color from silver to black, with an automatically refilling quiver. Third, a magically refilling bag, that contains ambrosia, nectar, unicorn draught, water, black and silver clothing, and an extensive first aid kit. All three gifts will shift with you when you turn into a wolf, so you don't have to carry them, and the bow and quiver will magically reappear on your back if they are lost or stolen." She handed him the three items and Nico bowed deeply in thanks. "And," she added quietly, "I make you an honorary member of my hunt. Though you are not required to travel with us, you may seek refuge with us at any time, and any hunter will provide you aid when in need."

Nico gasped at her words, then bowed deeply. "Lady Artemis, thank you for your blessing and the gifts. I am honored to be part of your hunt, and will respect your commands and protect your hunters if ever need be." She nodded, pleased, and stepped back.

Hecate stepped forward, and said, "I too have a gift for you, Nico di Angelo. Another Stygian Iron sword, which turns into a skull ring, like your other sword, and armor and a black shield, made of a mix of Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold, they retract into these bracelets when not needed." She handed him two slender, perfectly smooth black bracelets, which he slid onto his wrists, where they adjusted to fit him snugly.

"Thank you, Lady Hecate. Again, I am honored to be your champion, and swear to obey you and protect those you protect, including your children, when in danger." Nico bowed to her as she stepped back, face impassive except for the pleased glint in her eyes.

Lupa prowled forward and thought into his head, "you are now given full years in the legion of Rome." His brand burned, and suddenly fifteen lines formed in neat rows. "You have completed any necessary service in the legion, and I name you ambassador in my name, and protector of both children of Rome and Greek demigods."

Last, Hestia stepped forward and said, "Nico di Angelo, I too have another gift. Unlike the others, this gift is not tangible, although it may come in handy when dealing with others. You can sense others emotions, and give peace to another if you touch them and say, 'Peace be unto you.' They will remain calm for the next three hours, or until you release the spell."

"Thank you, Lady Hestia," Nico stammered, "and I swear to obey you and protect those you hold dear if there ever be a need." He bowed one final time as she stepped back to the other two goddesses.

"Now rest, my son," Hestia said softly. "I can sense your weariness, and you deserve at least a few more hours of rest. If any of us have a need for you, we will call. Now, rest." He bowed and sat down heavily on the bed, more tired than he'd realized. He shielded his eyes as the goddesses revealed their true forms and flashed away. He studied the new, intricate tattoo on his left arm and the five small symbols on the inside of his right wrist. He traced each one of the symbols softly and thought about what had just happened. He'd become the champion of Hestia, Hecate, and amazingly, Artemis, and Lupa, and had been adopted by Hestia. And although his father seemed to disapprove of him, his symbol had still shown up, along with his four new patrons.

He looked up, startled, as Walter's cheerful voice filled the room. "Well, mate, nice tattoo! I see you've accepted m'lady's blessing, along with Ladies Hecate, Lupa, and Artemis. Well, that must I've been really something." Nico nodded without looking up. "You're all tuckered out, then," Walter said cheerily. "This is your room, mate, and you can stay here and rest. The walls can change color, just imagine what you want and push it onto the walls. They respond very well, but simple color schemes are the easiest to ensure you get exactly what you want." He waved goodbye as he exited the room, leaving Nico alone. He focused on his walls, changing them to black. There were four stars, however, directly above his head. One was shining silver, one was light green, one was a confusing swirl of dark silver and reddish gold, and one was orange-red. As he lay back on the bed, memories swarmed his head. The too-recent betrayal, being tortured in Tartarus, kept in that awful bronze jar with the pomegranate seeds and his death trance, Percy telling him of Biancas death, Minos in the Labyrinth, and more. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the three stars above him. His nightmares faded as the three colors overwhelmed all conscious thought, and he slipped off into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to comment below, but only constructive criticism please, don't hate. I can't promise regular updates, but I'll really try to get one out at least once a week. **


	2. Chapter 2 - Apollo and Wizards

Nico opened his eyes and saw Tarturus glaring at him from across the room. He was back in the cell he'd spent so long in, his hands chained together and laying on the filthy stone floor. "Welcome back, hero," Tartarus sneered. Nico flinched at the promise of pain in that voice. "Are you ready to join us yet, or do you need some more persuasion?"

"I told you before, I'll never join you, you filthy monster. I won't betray those I care about." Nico glared defiantly at the monster across the room from him. As he watched, Tartarus crosses the cell with deceptively quietly, standing over Nico. Suddenly, a heavy boot slammed into his side and he grunted in pain. Again and again, the boot slammed into his ribs, and he felt bruises form until he felt a sharp crack as a rib broke.

"Still so defiant, hero?" Tartarus laughed cruelly. "Why not betray them? I know what they did to you. Betrayed by your friends, Jason, Reyna, Will, even your by sister Hazel. The gods have turned against you, even your father rejects you. What have you left to be loyal to?" His expression seemed truly confused, and he looked almost frustrated that Nico defied his expectations.

"Not all the gods and my friends have left me," Nico whispered through the pain in his side. "_Percy, Annabeth, Thalia,_" he thought to himself as he gasped for breath, "_and Hestia, Hecate, Lupa, and Artemis haven't left me either. I have enough._" He smiled up at Tartarus. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he taunted smugly, even though he knew he was practically begging for more pain. "For your information, although my fatal flaw is holding a grudge, once my loyalty is earned, I'm as faithful as Percy." Nico smiled as the primordial growled with rage and slashed his hand through the air.

Nico woke up with a gasp and grabbed his chest, then lifted up his shirt and poked his ribs gently. There was severe bruising all over his chest, but only two of his ribs felt actually broken. He saw a glass of nectar next to his bed and swallowed a few mouthfuls. He felt his ribs pop back into place and start to knit together, but he didn't dare drink anymore. He wrapped a nearby bandage tightly around chest, used to fixing himself up after the nightly sessions with Tartarus. He winced, but got up out of bed and looked around for a fresh set of clothes. He saw a folded pair of comfy yet snug black pants and shirt, with an extra-large black sweatshirt. After he pulled on the clothes, he swung the bow, quiver, and pack on his back and opened the door to his room. The hallway was wide and brightly lit, with warm orange-red walls and wide windows every few feet. He wandered the winding passageways until he found a large, open, circular room. In the middle was a large hearth, and the room was dotted with comfy beanbags and chairs. Hestia sat next to the fire in her eight-year-old form. She looked up when he entered the room.

"Nico!" she called cheerfully. "How did you sleep, son?"

He walked up to her and bowed slightly, answering, "Very well, mother. Thank you for your and the other's gifts."

"No bowing, child," she scolded. "Breakfast is coming soon, though you could summon any food with your powers. After that, you can explore your new abilities." She smiled at him as Walter nearly ran into the room.

"M'lady, so sorry for the interruption, but your presence is urgently requested in the infirmary. Two new guests have arrived, one badly hurt, and the other requests your assistance and blessing." Hestia stood up immediately and waved for him to lead the way. Nico followed close behind. Walter continued talking as they walked quickly down the passage. He continued talking as they strode along. "The uninjured one called himself Lester, and he says the grievously wounded girl is named Meg McCaffrey. Apparently your temple was the closest safe place of refuge he could think of when they completed their quest, though wounding his companion in the process. He refuses to give me more details, only requests to speak to you and receive your blessing. Ah, here we are!" He said peppily, though Nico could see and sense the worry pouring from him. He opened a plain, nondescript brown door with the word Infirmary on it in medium-sized golden letters. Walter opened the door and Nico felt a jolt of pain, shock, and surprise as it opened.

He saw a familiar mop of blonde hair, the exhausted posture, and the rumpled doctors scrubs. "Will?" he thought, confused. Then the man turned around and Nico saw his face, so similar to Will, but different. "Lord Apollo," he said, bowing deeply. "I see you have been restored to godhood. Congratulations, m'lord."

Apollo looked up, and Nico saw the concern in his eyes. "Hello, Nico," he said, and his voice held poorly concealed pain. "How are you? How's Will? How's everyone at camp? How's," he suddenly broke off, seeing Nico's flinch at his questions. "What happened?" He asked, concerned.

"Will is now dating a girl from Demeter, the rest of the camps finally figured out what a monster I am and they don't want me around, and the Asclepius told the gods I was so mentally unstable that I should be banned from the camps." Nico felt the tears welling up in his eyes, and he felt the voices in his head start up again. "_Monster. Freak. Nobody loves you. Just go die. You're a disgrace._" He suddenly felt four really warm arms fo around him and saw Apollo and Hestia sandwiching him in a hug.

Hestia let go and grabbed his face between both her hands, making him look her in the eyes and said, "Nico di Angelo, don't you listen to those voices in your head. You are not a monster or freak, and if you die I will make your father resurrect you so I can kill you myself!" Hestia's voice grew increasingly shrill as she talked until Nico was wincing at the volume and pitch of her words, but he nodded obediently anyway.

"Aunt's right, cuz," Apollo said from behind him. "Don't listen to those voices, and if you do, I'm going to help her kill you again." He slapped Nico's shoulder playfully, then sat back down in his chair. "Meg," He said after a short pause, "it's dying, and I can't fix her." Nico whirled around to see Apollo looking helplessly at the small girl beside him. She was wearing a green dress, yellow leggings, and red shoes, looking distinctly like a traffic light.

"What's wrong with her Apollo?" Hestia said gently, moving to stand next to him.

"We were on the last part of our quest, to kill Python again. I was shooting arrows at him, but they weren't working. She ordered me to continue firing, and I couldn't do anything as she crept up to him as I distracted him. She snuck up close to him and managed to stab him in the head, but before he died, he sank his fangs into her arm. As soon as he died, I felt my godly power returning. I healed the wound," he gestured to a white, circular scar on her shoulder, "but I couldn't stop the poison from spreading, even with my strongest magic. I brought her here because I knew you'd offer us sanctuary while we healed, and I hoped that since you're the goddess of the hearth, you might know some special magic to help Meg. Please, Aunt, I've changed, and I can't bear seeing Meg die on me." He was actually crying as he finished speaking, large shining tears dripping down his cheeks and falling into Meg.

"Apollo, look at me," Hestia commanded firmly. "I think I know a cure. Have you heard of a phoenix? They are very rare, very magical birds, and their tears have healing properties. Of anything, they can heal Meg." Apollo looked up, hope shining in his eyes. "I know where we can find one, Apollo, but it might take a day or two. Meg will be ok until then, the poison is slow acting. Now you need to rest. You've spent over a year as a mortal, and only regained your powers less than a day ago. You need rest. Walter, my assistant, will watch Meg and wake you if anything goes wrong." She led the tired god over to a bed near Meg and forced him to lay down. He complied and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. "Follow me, Nico. It's to me to talk to Hecate." She walked out of the room and back into the winding hallways. They climbed upwards, going up staircases and down long, curving passageways until they reached an open platform at the top of the building.

Nico looked around in awe. They were on the side of a mountain overlooking a lush green forest. The trees waved in the gentle breeze blowing, which relieved the heaviness from the moist air. In the distance, a giant river wound its way across the countryside, and Nico could see smaller branches spreading out across the land. It was beautiful. "Lady Hestia, where are we?" he asked in awe. "It's beautiful!"

She smiled widely at his comment. "This is my temple in Bangladesh. Some Greek travelers were once stranded near here and prayed to me to help them get food and warmth. I did, and in return, they built me this beautiful temple. It's been forgotten, and Hecate hid it with the Mist for me, so nobody can find it, even other gods, unless granted direct permission. Now," she turned to Nico, "we need to call Hecate. One of the people from her pet blessed worlds has the only tamed phoenix I know of, and we need it to help Meg, the sweet girl."

"What can I do, Hestia?" Nico asked. He was worried about Meg and Apollo. After all, they hadn't rejected him like everyone else, and Meg was fun. She'd kicked Connor Stoll and Sherman Yang her first day at camp. And the new Apollo, the one who cared about a demigod enough to stay by her side and cry over her, one who felt real, deep guilt, was someone Nico wanted on the Olympian Council.

She smiled at him, resting her hand on his shoulder, "You can watch and help me persuade Hecate. Hopefully she's not busy. We came up here so we'd have some privacy, as our discussion might stray into some private areas." She snapped her fingers and called for Hecate. The goddess in question popped into the rooftop, frowning slightly.

"What, Hestia? This better be important, because I was busy yelling at Hades for being an idiot." She broke off when she saw Nico behind Hestia. "Hello, Nico. Glad to see you're looking better, little one. Now, what did you need, Hestia?" Hecate waved her hand impatiently.

Hestia smiled at her fellow goddess, "Thank you for yelling at Hades. He needs it. And," her voice and face turned serious, "we need you to contact Dumbledore, from your pet witches and the wizarding world. He still has that phoenix, Fawkes, correct?"

Hecate's face looked surprised for an instant before she smoothed her expression out. "Yes, he does, and why exactly do you need a phoenix?"

"Apollo is a god again, but his old human master, Meg McCaffrey, was bitten by Python. It's his old arch-nemesis, and he can't heal the poison. Fawkes is the only tame phoenix I can think of, and the girl doesn't have enough time for us to find and collect tears from a wild phoenix. Please, Hecate?" Hestia saw the still doubtful look in Hecate eyes and continued. "Apollo has changed, for the better in my opinion. If he loses this tiny human, I'm not sure what would happen, but it wouldn't be good no matter how you look at it."

Hecate nodded, albeit reluctantly, and waved her hand. "I will contact Dumbledore and see what I can do. Explain the whole thing to Nico, poor boy, and make sure that he understands the world. I'm probably going to need him soon, there's a problem arising in that world that he can help me with." Hecate disappeared with another quiet pop.

Hestia turned to Nico with a large grin. "Now that's out of the way, would you like to hear about Hecate's favorite pet world?"

Nico nodded, uncertain. "What do you mean, pet world?" "Was it a world filled with animals or something?" He wondered.

"Hecate sometimes blesses mortals with the gift of magic. A long long time ago, she blessed a group of mortals in England with the gift of magic, which they channel through their wands. This has grown into an extremely large group, mainly concentrated in Europe, specifically Britain, but even a very few in America. Most have forgotten their true origins, but a few, like the Headmaster of the magical school in England, Hogwarts, and the Minister of Magic, know of their history and have met Hecate. They have their own culture over there, partially separated from the mortals, who they call muggles. They went through a war many years ago, on a smaller scale than what you've been through, but still harmful. An evil wizard named Tim Riddle, or his alias Voldemort, collected a group of followers he called Death Eaters. He was defeated by the selfless sacrifice of a woman named Lily Potter. She was protecting her son, Harry, who was the first to survive the killing curse, which rebounded on Voldemort, killing him. However, because of the magical precautions he took, which involved evil magic, he survived. He came back last year when the boy Harry was at school and is gaining followers and influence to take back his former control and power. He spreads fear everywhere he goes. There is a prophecy about Harry prophecying his fight and hopefully, his defeat of Voldemort. Hecate probably wants you to enroll in Hogwarts at some point to protect Harry until his final fight with Voldemort." Nico listened to this explanation with wide eyes, stunned at the revelation of another entire world of magic and danger.

"So," he said cautiously once she finished, "There's another world of witches, wizards, and magic blessed by Hecate, and they have a guy named Voldemort, who was defeated by Harry's mother Lily, but who's coming back and is trying to kill Harry again, and they're going to kill each other." Hestia nodded once he was done. "Ok, so let's go tell Apollo the good news that we'll have the tears soon!" Nico turned and escaped from the roof as quickly as he could, trying to escape the future. "_Going back to school? And in another world, with another evil maniac trying to take over and kill everyone? More friends and allies to help, that would inevitably turn and betray me?_" Nico winced and tried to move on, throwing himself into training his new powers, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. "_If I do go_," he finally promised himself, "_I'll just stay distant so that nobody will get close enough to hurt me like that again._" The boy fought on, trying to force his anger and hurt to disappear, to drop into the emotionless fog that would last only until his nightmares came back.

**Thanks for reading! If there are any typos then just tell me. I typed this on my phone, so autocorrect may have done some strange things.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Healing

The next morning Nico woke up with his back bleeding copiously from Tartarus carving the words betrayed hero into his skin, deep enough to permanently scar. The nightmares never gave him a break, every night Tartarus would torture him in hope of breaking him and convincing him to join their side. And every night, Nico would refuse, listing the names of his patron goddesses and three remaining friends, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia. He wouldn't give up on them, no matter what. Nico grabbed some ambrosia and bandages, wrapping a makeshift bandage around his upper torso, trying to cover the words. The silvery scars rested just below his shoulder blades, almost touching the edges of his new tattoo. For some reason Tartarus couldn't see his new markings, which Nico was thankful for. He wondered what would happen if Tartarus knew about his new patrons and powers. He walked out of the room, dressed in the same comfortable black outfit as yesterday, and wandered until he found the infirmary. "_For such a large temple," he thought_, "there are very few people here. The only ones I've seen are Lady Hestia, Walters, Apollo, and Meg, and those last two don't even belong here." Then he remembered Hestia's explanation from yesterday. "_She must keep everyone out as a private place. I wouldn't be surprised it only she and Walter regularly came here."_ Nico had been standing outside the depot of the infirmary for a few minutes, thinking deeply to himself, until he shook handled and went in. Apollo was sitting by Meg's side again, looking more out together but still desperately worried. His golden hair was smoothed down, except for one shining cow lick near the back of his head. He was dressed in something Percy would wear, loose jeans and a extra large baggy gold sweatshirt. "Do you have them?" He asked, looking up hopefully when he heard Nico enter. Nico shook his head in response, and the golden god slumped back down in his chair.

"M'lord," Nico said gently, "Lady said it would be a day or two. We'll get the phoenix tears and Meg will be just fine. Stop worrying!" Apollo looked up, smiling again.

He looked at Nico again and said, "Thank you, cuz. And I have a question. Do you want my blessing?" he asked quietly. Nico blinked, startled.

"M'lord, why would you give your blessing to me?" Nico asked cautiously.

Apollo raised four fingers as he spoke, "Artemis likes you, three other goddesses like you, you are always respectful, and I want to help you. You remind me of myself, in a way. Most people don't see it," Apollo sighed, "but I hurt too, sometimes. Bring a god isn't all sunshine and rainbows, even with my domains." He looked away for a second, lost in thought, before turning back to Nico. "So, my blessing? I don't want to force you to be my champion of anything like that, it's a completely free blessing, no strings attached."

Nico shrugged. "I'd be honored, Lord Apollo." Apollo smiled, pleased, and shot a beam of golden light into Nico's chest. A slight burning sensation tingled on his right wrist, where a sun with a lyre appeared in line with the other symbols.

"You can now summon a sunbeam or sunstroke, can play any instrument extremely well, and can heal like my best healers." Apollo looked very satisfied, and nodded in pleasure.

Nico bowed quickly, slightly overwhelmed from the night, and said, "Thank you, m'lord."

—Line Break—

After dinner, Hestia stood up and walked to the infirmary. "Come, Nico. Hecate is here, and has brought the tears," she called behind her. Nico stood up quickly and rushed to her side. They walked quickly to the small room and saw Hecate waiting just outside the door."Hecate," Hestia said calmly, but sounded pleased. "Thank you for coming. I appreciate your assistance."

Hecate bowed her head, "Hestia," she said softly. "Remember the promise you made." Hestia nodded solemnly and held out a hand. Hecate placed a small bottle containing a partly clear liquid in her hand, then disappeared with a quiet pop. She didn't reveal her true form, which left Nico confused at how she disappeared, but he quickly dismissed the subject as they entered the room

"Now, Apollo," Hestia said solemnly. "This won't hurt Meg, but she might start glowing, screaming, and thrashing. Just stay calm, nephew." she bent over Meg and dropped two small pearly drops into her still mouth. A few seconds later, Meg began to twitch and moan. Her arms and legs began to thrash, and her whimpers grew into shrieks. Apollo sat down quickly on the bed, and grabbed Meg's hand tightly.

"It's ok, Meg. I'm so sorry I didn't get to you in time, don't leave me, I can't lose you, you're the annoying little sister I never had! Meg McCaffrey!" His eyes welled up with tears and he tried to contain a sob. Nico looked on in amazement. A god, an Olympian, crying over a ten year old girl dressed like a stoplight. He smiled. Apollo was definitely tied for his new favorite Olympian god, along with Artemis. Hestia, of course, was his favorite goddess overall, with Hecate coming in behind the twins.

A scratch voice penetrated the room. "Apollo? Are we dead now because of your dumb plan? If so, I'm going to kill you, okay?" Her startling dark brown eyes flared behind her rhinestone cat eye glasses, and Apollo looked relieved beyond words.

"Meg!" he cried. "If you come that close to dying again, I'll kill you myself!" They glared at each other, then burst out laughing so hard they both doubled over, clutching their stomachs.

Hestia raised an eyebrow, looking amused, "Care to introduce us to Meg, nephew? Never mind," she signed, looking at their laughter flushed face, "I'm Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. This is Nico," she waved at him, and he nodded his head uncomfortably. "He is a son of Hades, my adopted son, and champion of myself, Hestia, Artemis, Lupa, and blessed by Apollo. Nice to meet you, Meg. Glad to see you've recovered. If you need anything, just call for Walter. You may leave whenever comfortable, take your time." She smiled and turned to exit. Nico followed her quickly, glad to escape others stares.

"Lady Hestia, I mean, m'lady," he corrected himself quickly. It was the most informal he felt like being with a powerful goddess. "M'lady, What did Hecate mean?" He looked at her, confused and a little worried.

"It's fine, Nico. Do you remember the Wizarding world? It's in a spot of bother again. Hecate told me privately they just barely had the final battle, and the children are having a difficult time recovering. She wants you to be a professor at the school, to help them deal with the mental repercussions. I agree. The only problem is," she sighed.

A cool, regal voice, yet still somehow kind and gentle, floated down the stairs, "there is no problem, Hestia, only more who wish to apologize and bless the boy. Heaven knows he deserves it. Losing so many friends and family so quickly hurts the soul. Aphrodite and I both felt it, and Ares and Hephaestus agreed, after some persuasion." Hera, Queen of the gods, walked around the corner. Her white dress shimmered and flowed in the light, and her delicate crown matched the outfit and her appearance perfectly. A goddess dressed entirely in pink and purple came next, beautiful, looking just like Bianca. A large, leather clad, scarred man followed close behind, stalking next to a shorter, crippled man with bronze leg braces. He had machine grease splashed everywhere, and his beard and hair were untamable.

"What? Why?" Nico stammered, confided.

"See, kid," Ares explained, exasperated, "Aphrodite wasn't really paying attention on Olympus that day, she was worried about Percabeth, her favorite couple. I was thinking about war, and Hephaestus was inventing something. When she looked up, she felt your heartbreak and pain, along with Hera, because of the betrayal of your family and significant other. Both of them yelled at us, so we came. Apparently they want to bless you, so let's get going. I've got some video games to play." He waved his hand and Hestia sighed, gesturing to follow her while striding off in a new direction.

"_Why am I so suddenly popular?_" Nico thought. "_I'm not worth it anyway, so who cares?_" He followed the five deities to a small room with several couches and a comfy armchair, which Nico promptly dropped into, unwilling to share a couch with anyone. "Now, what did you all say again?" He asked incredulously.

Hestia frowned slightly, but switched to a blinding smile the next instant. "They want to bless you, like Apollo." She waved her hand. "Continue, then. You have my and the others permission."

Hera stood up from the couch she was sharing with Aphrodite and gestured to Nico to do the same. She raised her hand and smiled at Nico while a beam of golden white light shot into his heart and he dropped to one knee. "You can now sense family bonds, including relationships and their respective strengths, and can strengthen or weaken those bonds. You are also now amazing with children, providing an immediate calming, peaceful, and happy influence." She stepped back, looking very pleased with herself. Aphrodite came forward immediately.

"Nico!" She shrilled excitedly. A blast of pink light flew into his heart. He wobbled a bit on his knee, not completely recovered from Hera. "You can now change your clothes to anything, and have a very strong gift of charmspeak. Good luck, darling!" She beamed, proud of herself and happy. Nico winced, not really into clothing, but nodded his head in thanks anyway.

Ares growled, "Punk, I didn't really want to be here, but Aphrodite made me, so here's my gift." He shot a bolt of angry red light into Nico, "You are now a weapons master. Pick up a weapon, any kind, and you'll know how to use it well. But this gift will be enhanced and improved the more you train, so don't think you're automatically the best."

Hephaestus was lurking in the background, almost forgotten until he stopped forward. "You're a good kid, and what Zeus did was wrong." He shot a bronze beam of light at Nico. "My gift is the ability to build. Like my children, you can build almost anything, given time and the right materials."

Nico stood up and bowed to the four gods. "Thank you, Lady Hera, Lady Aphrodite, Lord Ares, and Lord Hephaestus. I will use the gifts well, thank you. If any of you need assistance, call and I will come as soon as I can." All four smiled and disappeared in a flash of light while Nico shielded his eyes. He sank back down into the chair and stared at Hestia. "Four more gods just blessed me. How many more are there? I don't want or like power, and they wouldn't do it if they didn't feel sorry for me. I don't want gifts out of pity." He rubbed his arm as he spoke, looking down at the four new symbols on his arm, a nearly-cracked heart, a sword and shield, three linked gears, and two linked rings.

"Nico," Hestia said softly, smiling from her couch, "it's not out of pity that they bless you. You are very strong, and very good, and you deserve them. Don't listen and feed that voice in your head that tells you you'll never be enough. It's wrong, and it will always be wrong. You are an amazing person, and I am proud to call you my champion and my son." Nico felt his eyes well up at her words. He tried to will the tears away, but one slipped out and rolled quietly down his cheek. "Come here, my child," Hestia whispered softly. He came and sat next to her on the couch, and she pulled him into a hug. He cried silently for a long while, finally slipping of to sleep wrapped in her arms. "He's hurting so much," she thought sadly, "and there's nothing I can do to ease his pain. He needs friends, family, someone to connect to and trust, but after what happened he won't let anyone else in. What will happen? Maybe Hecate's idea is good. He really is the only one who can help them through this, and maybe helping others work through their pain will help him understand and move past his own." She smiled down at her adopted son, hoping that he would find acceptance and hope again.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Weasleys

Nico sat up abruptly. _"I didn't have a nightmare._" He thought, confused and worried. "_The last time I didn't have a nightmare was before Bianca died._" The forbidding pit in his stomach wouldn't go away and he shivered. "_Whatever Tartarus is planning or preparing for, it's going to be big. And tonight will be even worse._" With that cheerful thought, Nico decided to get ready. He remembered the strange conversation between Hecate and Hestia when they brought the phoenix tears. "_It probably has something to do with that,_" he decided. As he was thinking, he heard a sharp knock on the door.

"Nico?" a voice called. "It's Walter. As soon as you're up, Lady Hestia would like to see you near the main hearth."

Nico yelled through the door, "Thank you, Walter. I'll just get dressed and be down." He hurriedly put on the same all-black outfit with his pack and bow and checked that his two rings and bracelets were still on his wrists. He had the feeling that he would leave today and didn't want to forget anything as he hurried through the corridors, winding his way to the center of the building. Hestia was standing by her hearth without her usual smile. "Lady Hestia, what's wrong?" He cried, concerned.

"Nico," she said, noticing him, "you heard what Hecate said last night, correct?" He nodded, remembering the strange conversation and her explanation of the wizarding world. "As I told you before, the war is over, and Voldemort is gone forever this time. However, the students, especially Harry Potter and his friends, along with some students forced to the dark side, are still struggling with the aftermath and psychological damage. Hecate and I agreed that you should go and help them recover. Your own experiences with war and betrayal will help you understand what they're going through and know how best to help them." Nico nodded, though internally he was worried. More people to befriend him, just to turn around and betray his trust? "You will go as the new defense against the dark arts teacher," Hestia said, interrupting his worries. He smiled, amused by the irony. He was the son of Hades, he lived and breathed dark arts. "I've made arrangements for you to stay at the same house Harry stays in over the summer. The family is very kind, they should give you a chance, at the very least. Just make sure nobody knows you're a demigod." He nodded again. Hestia took a deep breath, and she suddenly looked sad. "You leave today, almost immediately, in fact. Hecate will apparate you there, after giving you a few mod instructions. I will miss you, son, but I think this will help those poor people, and you might even learn something too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Hecate appeared with a small pop. "Hestia," she said, nodding to them. "Shall we go, champion?" she asked softly and held out a hand. He swallowed and took it nervously. He felt a twisting pressure like he was being squeezed through a tube, and suddenly they were out in the English countryside, looking at a tall, misshapen house. It looked like it would fall over in a strong breeze, and Nico was amazed it had lasted so long, judging from the well-worn paint and wood covering it all. "Now, champion," Hecate said seriously, "three things: you must not reveal your true identity. You are Nico di Angelo, a half-blooded wizard." She noticed his look of confusion at the term and explained. "A half-blood to them is one wizarding parent, one mortal, or Muggle, parent. Your mother was an Italian witch, and your father was an American businessman. After she died, you moved in with him. You were home tutored in Italy and America because your father had so many enemies. Now the second thing, you must protect the school. You may run into some monsters chasing you, especially now that you are the champion of three goddesses, and have the blessings of even more deities. And I fear the Greek world is not done with you yet and maybe working with new allies. Finally, here is a wand." She handed him a long, slender, black stick thrumming with power. "I have blessed you with knowledge of wand magic, just tap your head with the wand twice before you enter the house. Your wand is ebony with a core of Pegasi and unicorn hairs and a phoenix feather. Take care of it. Good luck, my hero." She vanished with that signature pop, and Nico stared at the wand. He did as she said, and tapped his forehead twice. Immediately a flood of information appeared, and he staggered slightly from the force of it. The entire history of the race, even some details unknown to most wizards, and every spell ever created came to his mind. He walked to the door of the tumbledown house, mentally preparing himself to meet the over-enthusiastic Weasley family. He knocked softly on the door and waited for a response.

"I'll get it, George!" A voice yelled as footsteps pounded towards the door.

"No, I will, Fred!" another voice yelled, identical to the first. The door was yanked open, and Nico saw two identical red-headed boys standing there. "Hello," The first one started. "You must be the new—"

"—defense against the dark arts professor." the second finished.

Nico nodded. "Hello, Fred and George. I'm Professor Nico di Angelo. I'll come and speak to you at your shop in Hogsmeade sometime. I know some identical twins, and I've heard of your pranks, and I am excited to plan some things with you." Their matching evil grins told him he'd said the right thing. "And call me Nico," he said, smirking back, "if we're going to be pranking together." They nodded enthusiastically.

"Looking forward to it, Professor!" Fred said.

"Come in," George gestured, and he followed them into the house. "Mum!" he called, "Professor di Angelo is here!" They walked into a bustling kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Professor!" a short, plump woman called in delight. "So glad you're here. I just got some hearty sandwiches done. You're as bad as Harry, dear, no meat on your bones at all." She put a thick sandwich on his plate, and he stared at it nervously. He didn't eat much after Tartarus, and he didn't think he could finish three bites, let alone the entire thing. He bravely took a bite and nodded along to Mrs. Weasley's continued chatter. "I'm Molly Weasley, dear. Four of my children, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny, are at home right now, and my oldest three and my husband, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Arthur, are all out. They'll most likely be over for dinner, with Bill's wife, Fleur Delacour." She noticed he wasn't eating and waved at his sandwich, a motherly expression on her warm face. "Eat up, dear, it's good for you."

"Mrs. Weasely," Nico said nervously, "I'm sorry, I ate plenty just before I came, so I will have to face the regret of not finishing your wonderful sandwich. Thank you, though. And call me Nico, Mrs. Weasely, I'm not used to being called Professor."

She smiled and nodded. "Of course, dear, that's fine, as long as you call me Molly. How old are you, you look awfully young." She eyed his small frame, and Nico twitched nervously.

"I'm seventeen, Molly," he said. "I wasn't sent to school, just tutored at home, so my education progressed much faster than most others." He crossed his fingers under the table, hoping that she'd believe him. "I'm only fifteen!" He screamed in his head. "And I'm extremely short and rather malnourished, so I look even younger!" Apparently, she accepted his answer, however, and moved on. He listened to her sparrow-like chatter as she comfortably moved around the kitchen, preparing enough food to feed a small army.

He sat there for four hours listening to her comforting talking until she finally called, "Supper!" up the rickety stairs. He heard the soft thud of many feet running, and suddenly Fred, George, two more red-headed children, a brown frizzy-haired girl, and a boy with Percy's messy black hair burst into the kitchen. "Boys, girls! Manners, we have a guest," Molly scolded. They mumbled indistinct apologies as they all sidled towards the very full table. "Go wash your hands, then you can sit down. We still need Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy, and then I'll introduce you to the new professor." They all ran off to do her bidding, and Nico laughed at the strange sight of the tiny, round woman ordering the group of gangly teenagers around like little children. He heard a rap on the door and it swung open, revealing another red-head standing next to a white-haired beauty. "Bill! Fleur! Just on time, as always."

"And us, mum," another voice piped up from behind the pair. They came inside to reveal three more red-heads outside.

"Charlie, Percy, Arthur! Come inside, dears," Molly exclaimed. Nico noticed the man she called Percy was standing a little further away from the others and held himself uncomfortably. He called on his new powers and tried to see his relationship with the others. Unlike the golden threads emanating between most of the others, Percy's threads were only barely crossing to the others, and the strongest connection, to Molly, was still thin and nearly broken. Nico decided to do another experiment and fed some energy into the thread between Percy and Molly. He saw the golden glow of the thread brighten, and the two moved a bit closer together. He saw Percy attempt a smile at his mother, and the effort made Molly glow.

"Hello, mum," he said quietly. "How was your day?" she beamed in response and started chattering away. Nico smiled internally, his experiment had paid off. It felt surprisingly good to fix someone else's relationship, even if most of his were snapped. Eventually, everyone came in from washing their hands, and dinner commenced. The twins sat on either side of him, Fred on the right, George on the left, and Molly gave everyone a quick introduction and description. Then she asked him to introduce himself and tell his story.

"Right, I am Professor Nico di Angelo, the new DADA professor," he began nervously. He told them the backstory Hecate had given him, careful to leave most of the details blank.

Hermione piped up quickly once he finished, "How old are you, professor?"

"I am seventeen," Nico said quietly, "but I have seen enough because of my family that I've been through more than any of you." They all looked slightly taken aback at his comment until Molly cleared her throat meaningfully. The conversation turned back to more innocent topics, and Nico sighed in relief. He studied the others as they talked, especially Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They all seemed mostly fine, a little quieter than most teens would be, but no deep emotional scars. Then he looked at Harry, and he frowned slightly. The boy hadn't been sleeping properly, he could tell, and he would flinch every once in a while when the noise got too loud. "_He's the worst out of this group, the one I have to look out for._" Once dinner was over the twins pulled him to their room as the rest were conscripted into cleaning and washing up.

"This is our room," George said cheerfully, "and we'll be your bunkmates for the next week until school starts." He smiled mischievously and looked at Fred. "Besides, if we're going to prank the rest of the house together, this will make it easy to plan."

Nico felt a brief flash of happiness and he gave a genuine smile, the first since Will had broken up with him, and nearly as big as the ones he gave at Camp, before the incident. "What are we waiting for?" he asked, matching the twins' looks. All three dived into planning, plotting the best ways to set up the rest of the house. Nico realized he was actually having fun, and decided that the twins were worth coming to the wizarding world, even if they were the only partial-friends he made the entire time


	5. Chapter 5 - Nightmares and Pranks

Harry rubbed his eyes after waking up from another nightmare. He'd been having them ever since the war, he kept seeing all his friends, especially Sirius, die while he had to watch, over and over again. He hadn't been sleeping more than three or four hours at a time, and he was exhausted. He talked absentmindedly with Ron and Hermione for most of the day. They kept giving him worried looks, but he was too tired to care. Eventually, Mrs. Weasley called him and the others down for dinner. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw a new person sitting at the table. He was very small, shorter and thinner than Harry, but there were muscles filling out his form beneath the black sweatshirt and pants he wore, and he had on two skull rings on his right hand, and two solid black bracelets on his arms. Mrs. Weasley saw them staring and ordered them to wash their hands before sitting down.

He heard the front door open and heard Mrs. Weasley call out to the others. When they all sat down, she introduced the new person to them all. His story sounded suspicious, and Harry couldn't believe that a seventeen-year-old was their new DADA professor. "_I could teach that class better than he could!_" Harry thought indignantly. _"I didn't see him fighting in the last war. And wizards from America came over to help in the final battle to, so it's not like he wouldn't have heard of it._" But then Harry saw the professor looking at them all and meet his eyes. The dark brown orbs were broken, shattered, and he could see the pain in them, worse than his own. "_Maybe he does have something to teach us. Nobody could have that much pain in his eyes and not have gone through something terrible. I'll give him a chance, at least._" Harry smiled, pleased to have made up his mind, and moved on to listening to Hermione lecture Ron about the importance of school. The twins dragged Professor Nico di Angelo upstairs, a maniacal glint in all three sets of eyes, and Harry winced internally. The thought of those three teaming up to prank everyone was horrifying.

That night, Harry crept downstairs after his nightmare, looking for some peace and quiet outside. He was startled to find the new professor outside too, sitting in the garden fence. He was about to go inside again when he spoke. "It's all right, Harry. Come sit with me." Harry jumped, he hadn't realized the professor had noticed him. He hesitantly sat down and waited on silence, unsure of what to say. "Nightmares?" came the unexpected question. He nodded silently, surprised that the professor had figured it out so quickly. Even Ron and Hermione didn't know. "It's ok to have nightmares, you know." The strange man next to him continued. "Everyone does. Honestly, I'd expect it, based on what you've gone through. Hiding for months, coming back to see your second home, Hogwarts, practically destroyed, your friends in pain, seeing people die for you and your cause, then dying yourself. Then coming back and defeating the one man that terrorized the world for many years, all before you turned eighteen. Nightmares are normal, and you aren't the only one." Harry looked at him in shock. "Tell your friends." The man said softly. "Although their dreams are not as bad as yours, they can help. Holding onto your pain will only make it worse." Harry nodded mutely, still shocked that he knew so much about what had happened. He looked down and saw the professor's sleeve pushed up, revealing his right arm. There were thick, silvery scars crisscrossing it, and on the inside of his wrist, there were ten symbols tattooed in black ink. A jeweled skull, a flame, a swirl of mist, a bow and arrow inside a moon, a running wolf, a lyre inside a sun, two linked rings, a cracked heart, a shield and sword, and three gears in a row. Higher on his forearm was another strange tattoo, except it looked more like a brand. A skull with the letters SPQR and fifteen straight lines. Definitely no Dark Mark, so the tiny and mostly dismissed worry in his mind was removed in that account. The professor's arm twitched as he saw where his gaze was directed, and his mouth twisted strangely. "The scars—I haven't had an easy life with the number of enemies my father and family have. The tattoos—well, I have some powerful and possessive, shall we say, patrons. Each mark symbolizes one of them. I don't believe you've heard of them in England, but they're very powerful in America, though only a select few there have heard of them too. Their business is more behind-the-scenes, so unless you're directly connected to them, you wouldn't know them. Don't worry about it, my problems should mostly stay in America." Harry nodded, shocked by the explanation, and wordlessly followed the professor as he stood up and headed inside and back to bed. Just before he entered his room, he heard a whisper, "Sleep tight, Harry. No more dreams will bother you tonight."

The next morning Harry sat up, confused at why he felt so rested, and suddenly remembered his strange meeting with Professor di Angelo in the garden and smiled. He shook Ron in the buck next to him and smiled hugely at his friend. "Get up, sleepyhead! I want breakfast!" Ron moaned but followed him downstairs. "Morning, Mrs. Weasley, Professor," he said, setting the pair taking at the table.

"Good morning, Harry, Ron," Mrs. Weasley says in her motherly voice, smiling at both of them. The professor just nodded but smiled faintly at Harry. "Sit down and eat," she commanded, "you're all practically skin and bones!" they obeyed with a will, except for the professor, who only ate half an apple.

Hart cocked his head but dismissed it. "He must've eaten before we came down," he decided and talked enthusiastically to Ron until Hermione came down. After breakfast, Mrs. Weasley got the twins and Professor di Angelo to help her clean up, so Harry dragged his two best friends outside. "Ron, Hermione, I have something to tell you," He said nervously, afraid of their reactions. Hermione looked at him strangely but nodded for him to continue. "I-I've been having really bad nightmares," he stuttered, looking down.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione said compassionately. "How long have they been happening?"

"Ever since the end of the war," Harry muttered.

Rob gaped at him. "And you're only telling us now, at the end of the summer? Mate, we're your best friends! We can help you with stuff like this, that's practically in our job description!" Harry looked down and nodded.

"What changed your mind?" Hermione asked him, curious.

He looked at her and admitted, "Professor di Angelo. I had one and cane outside to the garden for some air and he was here. He talked to me about them, somehow knew why I was out here without even asking. I really like him, guys, I think he knows what he's talking about. But something about him..." Harry trailed off. He continued at the others inquisitive looks. "I saw his arm last night. He's got the worst scars, he said they were from his father's enemies. And he has these tattoos, not dark marks, but he said they're from his patrons. Only, when he said patron, it sounded like he meant something else instead."

Hermione gave him a hug and reassured him, "but you said that you trusted him, right?" Harry nodded silently, contemplating the awful scars and strange tattoos he'd seen. "Then I think we should leave him alone unless there's a problem. We've gotten in trouble enough times for snooping, and we don't need more this year. Trust Professor di Angelo. He seems like he can handle almost anything, even if he's so small and only a little older than we are."

"Well, mate, he seems like a cool bloke. Maybe he'll last a whole year, or even longer." Ron slapped him on the back and smiled, but then frowned. "Our only problem now is that he's teamed up with the twins. Who knows what havoc they're causing together." The other two winced and agreed, imagining the terrors in store for them back at the house.

—Line Break—

Nico rubbed the slashes on his arms and torso from his latest dream. The foreboding feeling from earlier had proved correct, and last night had been particularly bad. The words on his back had been recarved, and another set had been added just below it, spelling out worthless and useless. His arms and the rest of his torso had been subjected to many deep cuts until he'd lost far too much blood and passed out. Luckily, he didn't scream, that would've been hard to explain, and cleaned up the blood with a quick spell. After taking some ambrosia and bandaging the worst of the wounds, he came down early for breakfast. Harry came downstairs, looking much better than last night. His attempt at giving Harry some peace with Hestia's gift had apparently worked, and he was pleased with the result. After breakfast, he and the twins had set out to create havoc for the rest of the house's inhabitants, except Molly, of course. By dinner time, they'd successfully set up more pranks than they could count, and congratulated each other on mischief well done. He saw Harry sticking close to his two friends, and nodded. He could tell the boy had taken his advice and told the others, the threads representing their connection were stronger and brighter. As soon as they were all at the table, except the three oldest Weasley children, Molly started in on the four Hogwarts-bound children.

"Have you finished packing?" she inquired suspiciously. They all shook their heads guiltily, except Hermione, who smugly nodded. "Then after dinner, all of you are marching upstairs and packing. You won't have time in the morning, you need to get up early to take the train." She turned to Nico as the others nodded, cowed by the plump woman's fierce commands. "And you, Nico? Have you got everything? I noticed that you didn't bring many bags."

Nico nodded politely. "Yes, Molly, I have everything I need. My pack is magically bottomless, so it has everything I need." She smiled and turned back to the others as he ran through the short checklist. "_Pack, bow and quiver stored inside, two skull ring swords, and my armor bracelets, the change of clothes, and my wand. Yeah, that's everything._"

He snuck upstairs with the twins after dinner and used a scrying spell to watch the others fall victim to their pranks. Hermione was missing her trunks, as they'd shrink them and hidden them as a pair of earrings, Ron's clothes had all been dyed temporarily green and pink, Ginny was missing her makeup, hairbrushes, and most of her nice clothes, and everything in Harry's room was strongly scented with the strongest perfume they could find. They'd mixed everyone's shampoo with bright blue hair dye, that wouldn't show up with any spell, so Hermione wouldn't detect it. All the pranks were harmless, however, they'd automatically fix everything by seven o'clock the next morning, except for the hair dye. That wouldn't appear until their hair was dry, and wouldn't wash out except with a special counter dye. "That was the best thing I've seen in ages!" Fred gasped breathlessly from laughing so hard.

"Yeah, Nico, we've got to do that again!" George agreed enthusiastically. The three friends talked until late at night, and Nico was truly enjoying himself for the first time in a long while. "Hestia was right," he admitted to himself. "I needed someone like the twins in my life after camp..." he trailed off but smiled despite his sad thoughts. "_The words on my back don't describe me. I am not completely betrayed, worthless, or just a pawn. I am Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, adopted son of Hestia, champion of Hecate, Artemis, Lupa, and Hestia, and blessed by Apollo, Hera, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus, friend of Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and now Fred and George Weasley. Take that, Tartarus!_" He nodded and found the courage to go to sleep, despite the promise of torture looming over his head. Before he fell asleep, however, he cast a spell to contain any blood and noise from his bed, and cast a notice-me-not spell to avoid any attention, should somebody come upstairs for anything. He descended into sleep with a quick prayer to Hestia and Hecate especially, for bringing him here, Lupa for accepting him into her pack and sharing her bravery, and to Artemis for the magical pack with the supplies, so he wouldn't have to worry about finding more godly food while at Hogwarts

**Comment if you have any ideas/criticisms/complaints, just be polite! Sorry if I messed anything up, or a character is OOC**


	6. Chapter 6 —IMs and the Train Ride

Nico jolted awake with a gasp. Tonight had been bad, his left arm broken in two places, but thankfully no more words. He set his arm, holding in a scream, and splinted it firmly. He winced his way downstairs and faked a smile at Mrs. Weasley. "When do we leave, Molly?" He inquired, "I need to go check something."

She smiled back at him, seemingly oblivious to his tense tone, and responded cheerfully, "At six, dear, so you have about an hour before the car will be here. You need any breakfast?" He shook his head and headed out.

He found a field far enough away from the house that nobody could see him with a bunch of mist. He created a rainbow and threw in a coin, "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Percy Jackson, who knows where probably with Annabeth." The mist shimmered and came up with a picture of the couple curled up together in Percy's bed in his mother's apartment. "Percy! Annabeth! Wake up!" Nico hissed.

Percy shot up, disoriented, and Annabeth followed a little slower. "Nico?" He asked blearily. "Is that you?" He saw the message and smiled broadly. "Neeks, you're ok! We were so worried, the camps said you'd just disappeared, and the gods wouldn't tell us anything! Thals didn't know anything either, and a Will said you broke up with him and cheated on him, but that didn't make any sense. Are you OK?"

Nico sighed. "Will cheated on me with Hazel, the camps said they hated me, Reyna and Jason both rejected me, and most of the Gods declared me mentally unstable and banished me from both camps. Hestia found me and adopted me, Hecate, Lupa, and Artemis are my patrons, and Apollo, Hera, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus all blessed me. Hecate sent me on a quest to one of her pet worlds full of wizards, and now I'm a professor of defense against dark arts, and I'm also supposed to help a bunch of teenagers recover from their latest war against some evil wizard named Voldemort, who isn't nearly as scary as a Greek monster, but still bad, especially for them. How are you and Annabeth?" Percy just gaped at him, confused and slightly overwhelmed at the information dump.

Annabeth responded calmly for her boyfriend, "Wow, Nico, that's a lot. We're doing well, just staying at Sally's after helping two demigods, children of Hermes, to camp. I'm really sorry about Camp, Reyna and Jason, and especially Will and Hazel."

At this, Percy managed to snap out of his daze. "Neeks, you're a teacher? You're only fifteen! And sorry, man, you know you've got Annabeth and me, and Thalia is with you too."

"Thanks, Percy, I know. It means a lot to know that you guys are on my side, even if the others aren't." Nico smiled sadly. "And everyone here thinks I'm seventeen, soon to turn eighteen, so they're pretty ok with it. I made two new friends," Annabeth smiles, and Percy pumped his fist. "They're Fred and George Weasley, and they're basically the Stoll twins. They're tall, redhead, and own a magical joke shop. They're really helping me adjust and learn to fit in, and we get along surprisingly well."

Percy laughed. "You'll have to introduce us sometime." He looked over his shoulder. "Oh, mom's calling, we gotta go. I'll tell her you said hello, Neeks." He waved his hand through the Iris Message and it disappeared.

Nico fished out another drachma and repeated his words. "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Thalia Grace, with the Hunters of Artemis." He mist shimmered and Thalia's sleeping face appeared in her tent. "Thalia!" He whispered. She shot up and saw him, then growled suddenly.

"Nico di Angelo, do you have any idea how worried I was! Lady Artemis said you were ok, but she wouldn't tell me any details, and everybody at camp had some ridiculous story about you cheating on Will!" He gulped nervously and repeated the explanation he gave Percy. "Oh, Death Breath, I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I'm still furious you didn't IM me sooner. I was out of my mind."

He nodded obediently. "Sorry Thals, I was a bit busy. Next time, I'll be more careful." At his promise, her face relaxed. They talked for a while longer until he cast a spell to check the time. "I gotta go, we leave at six! See you later, Pinecone Face!" He broke the connection and walked back to the house, relieved that his friends were still loyal and were ok. He arrived back to see everyone loading bags into the seemingly tiny car, but everything fit. He climbed in the back, next to Fred and George, and rode in tired silence to the station. They ran through the wall and loaded onto the train a few minutes early. Nico found a compartment in the back with only one pale-haired boy sitting in it. "All right if I sit here? He asked politely and sat down on the opposite bench.

Without glancing up, the boy said, "You don't think I'm going to murder you or something? A former Death Eater could do all sorts of nasty things." His voice was tired, defeated, and he rubbed his arm uncomfortably.

"No, I don't care," Nico replied serenely. The boy's head shot up at this, and he peered at Nico, confused.

He stammered, "You-you don't care?" Nico nodded. "Why? Everyone else says I should be in Azkaban with my father." Nico tilted his head and shrugged eloquently.

"And why would What everyone else says bother me? You didn't do anything willingly, and you only took the Dark Mark to save your mother." The boy's jaw dropped, and a single tear slipped down his cheek. "I'm Professor Nico di Angelo, the new DADA teacher. You must be Draco Malloy, correct?" Draco nodded, still stunned by his words. "You know, a lot of people in America see me as bad, or hate me because of family and connections. That really hurts, still does, in fact. But it means I understand how you feel, and learned not to judge people on who their family is or their actions without the whole story."

Deco smiled tentatively at him. "Thanks, Professor." Nico nodded and they passed the time in peaceful silence. Draco's air of anger and guilt lessened slightly, and Nico smiled internally, proud of himself. He could tell this boy's nightmares were as bad or worse than Harry's, and he wondered if getting the two of them to befriend each other would help them. He knew of their rivalry, of course, but both had changed in the war, and the boy's mother had lied to Voldemort and saved Harry's life. He'd testified at Draco's trial, and prevented him from going to Azkaban. That had to count for something, and having someone who understood and shared their pain would help both heal from the war.

Unexpectedly, a frost started to creep through the train, showing the engines to a dead stop. Nico stood up, alarmed. A snowflake floated in front of his nose and glowed. "Draco, stay here. I have to go talk to the conductor." Nico said quickly, and walked out of the compartment and strode up to the front of the train. "Everyone stay in your compartment and don't worry! This situation is under control, but everyone needs to stay put." The worried murmurs quieted, and he made it to the front. Madame Malkin and the conductor were both frozen solid, and he saw a snowy white goddess standing in front of them with a smirk. "Lady Khione," He said, inclining his head respectfully.

Her smile grew. "Nico di Angelo. I have heard of your betrayals and blessings. Your story is interesting, enough for me to descend from my realm of snow and ice to meet with you."

He bowed his head further in respect, not wanting to anger the temperamental goddess. "Thank you, Lady Khione, I appreciate your attention," he said, unsure of how to act. "Is she going to attack? Or harm anyone?" He wondered, nervous.

"Calm yourself, child, I have no intention of harm. In fact, my presence here is of a different intent. I have knowledge of this upcoming conflict, your nightly terrors are part of it. You will have need of something only I and my companions have—control of snow and ice, sleep, and dreams. Suddenly, two more gods appeared next to her, both with light brown, almost white hair, swirling multicolored eyes, and wearing light green robes belted with a dark green sash. The one on the right had a pair of white wings sprouting from his back, and was lean and muscular. The one on the left looked older, had little muscles, though he wasn't fat, and leaned heavily on the side of the train. "This is Morpheus and Hypnos. We wish for you to become our champion, as you are for Hecate, Artemis, Lupa, and Hestia. I have no children, I am uninterested in men, and Hypnos' children don't do much. Morpheus never married and has no children."

Nico bowed uncertainly, "My Lady and Lords, I would have to ask my current patrons as well, I wouldn't like to offend anyone." Khione nodded regally and waved her hand, a rainbow ice sheet appearing, and she threw a coin in, asking Iris for Hestia.

"Hestia," she said imperiously, but politely. "I, Hypnos, and Morpheus wish the boy, di Angelo, to become our champion. None of us have children or any useful ones, and we have decided that he is worthy, as you have. He asked for your blessing to continue." Hestia looked past the goddess at Nico curiously, and he shrugged helplessly. The goddess was on a mission, and he couldn't come up with a good way to stop her.

Hestia frowned slightly but nodded. "Continue, Khione, Hypnos, and Morpheus. You have my blessing. Nico, son, I believe in you. You may not want more power, but that is exactly why you need and deserve it." She smiled at him and broke the connection.

Khione turned to him and nodded briskly. "You have her consent, now for the blessings." She shot a beam of white-light blue light into his heart as he dropped to one knee. "You have control over snow and ice, which involves creating it, shaping it, and moving it. You are now immune to cold as well." Nico felt a tingling on his right wrist and looked down to see several intricate snowflakes appear. She nodded and stepped back, and Hypnos stepped forward.

"I generally do not leave my cave, and have not blessed anyone in years, but there are some tasks in the realm of the awake that I recognize must be attended, and my children have inherited too many of my characteristics to carry them out." He shot a beam of pure white light at Nico, who swayed slightly, his body adjusting to the new power. "You are now able to put anyone to sleep for at least three days with a snap of your fingers and concentrated thought. They will only wake up once the time limit you have set runs out, you wake them up, or three days have passed. This works on anyone or anything, although the more powerful the being, the more energy it will take to perform." As he spoke, another tattoo formed on Nico's forearm, a branch with water dripping from it.

Morpheus stepped forward and smiled at Nico. "Your dreams are sad ones, child, which only makes you more worthy of my blessing." He shot a beam of light green-white light into Nico, who swayed dramatically again. "You can now control other's dreams. This means sending a specific person a dream, taking them out of a nightmare, and joining them in dreams and communicating. Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the dreams you have now, and your powers do not extend to your own dreams, but I can promise you that you will eventually find peace." A third tattoo formed as he spoke, a pair of poppies in a cloud.

Nico swallowed and began the oath of loyalty to his new patrons. "I swear my loyalty to Lady Khione, Lord Hypnos, and Lord Morpheus on the River Styx. I swear to obey any commands they ask of me and pledge my first loyalty to them and those under their protection." He bowed his head and waited for the pledge to be accepted.

All three responded together, "We accept your oath of loyalty, Nico di Angelo, and grant you one final blessing. We give you wings of dreams and ice, strong enough to carry yourself and many others." As one, they reached forward and place their hands on his head. There was a tingle in his back, and he felt a warm sensation creep over it from his shoulders to his waist, curling around the sides. Somehow his sweatshirt disappeared and a mirror sprang up in front and behind him, and he saw a tattoo of wings growing over his back. The feathers were laced with poppies, drops of water, leaves, and snowflakes, and it was iridescent black. As he stood up, the tattoo transformed into actual wings with a slight burning sensation. They were pure white, but the black outlines of poppies, water, snowflakes, and leaves remained laced throughout. He looked at them in shock, then back at the three deities in front of him.

"Thank you, m'lady, m'lords. They're beautiful." He stammered in shock, as he pulled the wings back into tattoo form, and quickly pulled his sweatshirt and shirt back on to cover them.

Khione came forward one more time and pulled out a delicate whistle made of ice hanging on a braided white leather necklace. "This is one final gift, a whistle to call for help in dire times. Blow it, and the person you think of will receive a distress call that contains your name, location, and problem. Use it wisely, however, because it takes three hours to reform once used." She smiled at Nico and disappeared in her heavenly form in a flash of golden light.

Hypnos and Morpheus stepped forward together and held out a staff. It was creamy white, and thrummed with power. Hypnos said, "This is a staff created with poplar wood and dipped in the River Lethe. It is safe to touch, but only for you. If anyone else tries to steal it, they will become unconscious and lose all memory of the last hour. It is unbreakable, and when you touch it, you will be a master at this technique, along with all martial arts styles of fighting." He handed it to Nico, who took it, marveling at the smooth texture of the wood. He froze for a second, trying to process the new information about defense in his brain.

"It retracts into a ring that you spin to get your staff," Hypnos said, and it transformed into a solid white ring with yin-yang symbols outlined in black. Nico placed it on his left hand and bowed deeply to both gods as they flashed away in a flare of golden light. After the gods disappeared, Nico looked around the train and sighed. He used his power over fire to melt the conductor and Madame Malkin, who looked around themselves in confusion as he continued to defrost the rest of the train.

"Where are we?" the conductor asked in confusion. "What happened? The last thing I remember was being so, so cold, then everything went black." Madame Malkin nodded her agreement, looking just as confused and tired.

Nico cleared his throat and they looked at him in surprise. "I am Professor Nico di Angelo, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. I can explain if you'll allow me?" He looked for their nods and continued. "I was sitting in the back compartments when a strange frost stopped the train, freezing it in place. I came up to check on you and saw you both frozen, and quickly defrosted you and everyone else with a quick spell. I saw no evidence of who it might have been, but I'm sure that Headmistress McGonagall will have something to say or some explanation of what happened. For now, however, we are running again and nearly to Hogwarts, so I suggest we leave any explanations to the Headmistress, during the Welcome Feast, as we have no answers ourselves. If you'll excuse me, I must be getting back." The pair nodded, and Nico walked back to his compartment, where Draco was waiting in confusion.

"What happened?" the boy asked, confused. "You were gone for ten, maybe fifteen minutes, when suddenly everything unfroze and we started moving again."

Nico smiled reassuringly, "It's all right. We aren't sure who caused it, but I managed to defrost everything and we're now on our way. Time for you to change into your robes." Draco nodded unhappily and did as he said.

"Aren't you going to change, professor?" he asked curiously, gesturing to Nico's current outfit. "Teachers, well anyone, usually don't wear black sweatshirts and black skinny jeans to the feast, or at all, really." Nico shrugged, and Draco gave up. They rode in silence together for another few minutes before the train arrived at Hogwarts. Everyone spilled off, chattering animatedly to their friends about their summers and the strange freezing of the Hogwarts Express. Nico noticed Draco looking about him nervously, and moved slightly closer to the boy. Draco noticed and looked at him, shamefaced. "I don't want to be jumped before we even get to Hogwarts," he admitted. "Most people hate me, possibly for good reasons." Nico shrugged again and stood closer to Draco, and most people walked past without comment when they saw the smaller, black-clad figure standing next to the tall, aristocratic one. After Nico greeted the Thestrals, who were really underworld horses, and had heard about him from their cousins, they got in a carriage together and rode to Hogwarts.

**I recognize, this one is long. I just had a lot to say, and there wasn't a good stopping point beagle where I chose. All this information will be important later, and I needed to have a Draco-Nico bonding scene after I had one with Harry. Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Partners

**Thank you to Akane-chaan, sidehillgouger, and a guest for telling me something was wrong with this chapter! Here it is, it should be not in code anymore. Enjoy, and thank you! **

Nico walked up to the intimidating double doors of the entrance to Hogwarts and swallowed nervously. "Here goes nothing," he thought apprehensively and pushed open the doors. He'd waited until all the students had entered, shooing Draco forward, so that he could talk to Professor McGonagall privately without students becoming curious. He walked in and greeted the first person he saw, which turned out to be a ghost.

"My-my lord! The Ghost King! If this is about that prank on all those third-year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, I can explain..." The ghost stammered nervously. He bowed deeply, shaking in his ethereal boots. "My name is Peeves, a poltergeist."

Nico waved his hands dismissively, "Don't call me that here Peeves, just Professor di Angelo. I'm undercover and I need you to either guide me to or fetch Professor McGonagall, but discreetly." The ghost nodded rapidly and floated rapidly towards a wall.

"I'll bring her here, Professor di Angelo. As soon as I can. Discreet, got this," He muttered rapidly to himself, trying to remember his instructions. He was back in a minute, followed by an irate professor.

"I swear, Peeves, if this is some kind of setup for an elaborate prank, I will find the Bloody Baron for a week and let him do whatever with you for the entire time," she threatened him.

Peeves babbled, "It's important, really is urgent, must come! No tricks, no songs, just need to follow me to the Gh-uhhh, Professor di Angelo." McGonagall looked skeptical as Peeves flew off quickly after bowing slightly to Nico.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows at the teen in her entry hall. "What on earth did you do to Peeves? The only person he listens to is the Bloody Baron, who isn't even a person, and even that's unreliable." Nico smiled and shrugged, and after a moment of uncomfortable silence, she continued. "I assume you are Nico di Angelo? Lady Hecate has informed me of your heritage and many recent events. What did you want to tell me?" She thought for a second, then nodded her head sharply. "Never mind, I take it back. I know what you did to Peeves, just try not to scare any of our ghosts too permanently. We're rather attached to them."

Nico laughed, then sobered quickly."Have you heard about what happened on the train?" he asked cautiously. She nodded her head and began to speak, but he cut her off quickly. "Whatever you heard, it isn't quite the full story." He hung his head sheepishly. "Three more Greek gods showed up, minor ones, but still extremely powerful, Khione, Hypnos, and Morpheus. They wanted to bless me, I'm afraid, and thought the best way to get my attention and get me alone was to freeze the entire train, the conductor, and Madam Malkin, who I am assuming is the twin of the robemaker? I never heard her name, but they look literally the same. I took care of the little problem, however, and if I have any luck, which I don't, then nothing like it will happen again."

McGonagall nodded her head crisply. "Thank you, Nico, I appreciate it. Now, I would like to discuss a few things with you. Lady Hecate requested your chambers to be near the infirmary? And she said to announce you as the new DADA professor and a second healer for mostly mental and emotional issues, specializing in PTSD and other traumatic conditions?"

Nico nodded cheerfully, surprised the professor hadn't figured it out yet. "Yes, Professor, with my heritage it is best I have easy access to a large number of healing supplies. In addition, I have been through much, and the main reason Hecate called me in was to help the students heal from the war. On my way over here I had an additional idea. If you could find a way to connect my chambers and classroom to a room with several partitions and comfortable beds and couches, I would appreciate that. I want to have a place separate from the hospital wing for students who need time alone or personal counseling without them fearing judgment from their peers. Asking for help is one of the most difficult and important things to do, and asking for emotional healing is more of a struggle for most than for simple physical healing. "

McGonagall's face was regretful. "They've suffered so much, especially our returning seventh years, or new eighth years. Of course, I will figure it out. You, I, and Poppy will continue discussing your requests later."

She swept away towards the Great Hall, and Nico followed reluctantly. He disliked crowds and didn't want his other professors to worry about how little he ate, but he didn't see another option. As he entered the hall, conversation shut off abruptly as everyone got their first glimpse of him. Nico winced inside. He was short and wasn't dressed like a wizard, and he knew his general aura wasn't exactly friendly. He was the son of Hades, after all, and had more power than both Dumbledore and Voldemort. Slowly their chatter resumed as everyone got over their shock at seeing the new teacher until Professor McGonagall clapped briskly and the talking died out instantly. Professor Sprout led a group of trembling first years into the room to be sorted. Nico tuned out the hat's song and the sorting, his ADHD kicking in with a vengeance. Finally, he heard Professor McGonagall stand up and tuned back in again.

"Hello, students, welcome back to Hogwarts. I know the past year was extremely traumatic and noneducational for most of you, which is why you will be repeating the year. Our eighth and seventh-year students, we know you have been some of the most affected by this tragedy, and have put protocols in place to deal with this. There will be an additional, mandatory meeting after dinner to address the changes. Now, we'd like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Nico di Angelo. He was homeschooled in America and has come to Hogwarts on special request. He does look young, I know, but he has been through much and should be respected. You don't want to know the consequences if you don't. He is also our new assistant healer, specializing in mental health. His chambers and classroom will be next to the infirmary this year, should you wish to visit him. He had asked to say a few words." Professor McGonagall sat down and looked at Nico expectantly.

He panicked slightly, he hasn't asked to say anything, but stood up reluctantly and began, "I know you all have been through many things this past year, things that no one, especially a child, should see or experience. I am here and understand what you have been through, including the effects of such experiences on people your age. Please, come talk with me if you are struggling in any way. Keeping quiet about it will not help you heal, and that is what must happen for you to live a happy life. Also, there may be some grudges or animosity between students. Bullying is unacceptable. You don't know what someone might have experienced or what else was happening to them, so you can't judge. If anyone is bullying another student, I will deal with you personally, and it will not be a pleasant experience." He sat back down nodded at Professor McGonagall to continue.

"Now, enjoy the feast, she said, and waved a hand, plates heaped with food appearing on the tables. She turned and began to chat with Professor Flitwick, who was sitting on her right.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at Nico and nudged his plate. "Eat, Professor di Angelo, or can I call you Nico? And call me Poppy."

Nico shrugged. "Of course, Poppy. And I don't eat much. It's all right. Can we discuss my chambers and the infirmary?" she frowned, but they started taking, Nico explaining his idea for a separate place that students could go to talk to him, where they could be sure to remain anonymous. She agreed enthusiastically and helped him flesh out the idea further. After dinner was finished, and all the students except for eight years had left, they walked over to McGonagall, who was staring at her students sadly. There were so few of them, barely thirty all combined.

"Now, eighth years, thank you for being here. I have several major changes I would like to introduce. First, you will not be staying in your house dormitory, you will be staying together in one dormitory, with two other roommates. I expect you to get along. Second, boys and girls will be allowed to enter the other's rooms, and I hope you will not abuse this privilege. Third, you will have free access to Hogsmeade, as long as you have finished your homework, simply check it with a teacher and go with at least one other student. Finally, each of you will have at least one pre-scheduled private conversation with Professor di Angelo over the next two weeks, as will our seventh year, who have been most affected by the war. If you feel the need to talk to him before that meeting, however, you may do so at any time. He will keep everything confidential and can help you more than you might realize. Give him a chance. He is the head of our eighth years, along with Madam Pomfrey, so follow them to your quarters. You will find room assignments on the doors. Good night." She finished quickly, dismissing them, and everyone filed out of the room. Poppy lead them to a large portrait of a knight and introduced them to Sir Cadogan, who the Gryffindors remembered all too well. With the password "unity" she entered the run, everyone following. There was a large common room with a large fireplace and many squishy armchairs, decorated in various shades of purple with gold, silver, bronze, and black accents, with two long hallways leading out to each side. Everyone scattered to find their rooms. There was a large portrait of a swirling galaxy hanging on the wall next to the door. The sign on its frame read 'connection to Professor di Angelo's office,' and Nico smiled, glad the students would have an easy way to access him.

Poppy smiled at her fellow head of house, who was roughly the same height as her, both much shorter than average. "I like the portrait connection, it's smart to have such an easy way to your office. And I do hope they'll get along. I like the idea of putting them with different houses, but what if they fight?"

Nico patted her arm. "They need to grow up and learn that other houses are made of people too, and they're all more similar than they thought. Besides, staying exclusively within their own houses will not find them the friends and support they will need to heal."

She sighed and turned away. "You're right, I just worry about them. Follow me, the infirmary is just a hallway down to the right. Your chambers are just off it to the left." They walked down the hallway, chatting about their shared passion for healing, and Nico found himself smiling again. He'd found another friend in the wizarding world.

—Line Break—

Harry stared in disbelief at his door. He was rooming with Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy! He didn't hate either of them, but they were still Slytherin and had made his life miserable for years. His room was the very last one in the hallway. Ron was near the beginning, with Ernest, or Ernie, Macmillan and Neville Longbottom. Hermione has run and found out she was staying with Pansy Parkinson and Padma Patil, neither of whom she was particularly happy about, but she didn't hold any particular animosity towards either, having forgiven Pansy during the war, and Padma hadn't done anything particularly irritating. Harry sighed deeply and went inside, bracing himself for a barrage of insults from both boys. He was surprised to find Malfoy sitting on his bed calmly reading a book. He looked up when Harry entered the room and gave him a curt nod. "Potter," He said, then ignored him, while Zabini ignored him entirely. Harry nodded back and went into the bathroom to shower, and when he came back out he began to draw. He'd stared over the last summer when he had to get some of the emotions and pictures out of his mind from the war. He turned it to be very good and really enjoyed doing it. He was drawing the dementors gliding towards him, a memory from his fifth year. The contrast between the creeping darkness surrounding the Dementors and the dim street lamp, and the scabbing grey hand extending from the robe, was difficult to draw clearly, and Harry was determined to get it right before bed.

Malfoy was still reading quietly, but he saw Zabini turning in bed, trying to sleep. He sat up suddenly. "Draco, mate, Potter, turn off the light! I'm trying to sleep!"

They replied together, "No," and ignored him, then looked at the other in mild shock.

"Okay, that was freaky, you two," Zabini said in amusement.

"Shut up," they responded together again, then looked at the other, even more alarmed. Zabini laughed heartily at them, then quickly turned over and went to sleep at their threatening glares. Ten minutes later, Harry put down his drawing, finally satisfied, and saw Malfoy doing the same with his book. He waved his wand to put out the light, and they went to sleep in uncomfortable silence.

He was woken from his nightmares by the sound of whispering.

"Draco, mate, it isn't your fault," he heard Zabini whisper.

"Yes, it is," Harry heard to choked sobs. "I'm an awful person, everyone hates me, and everyone should hate me." It was Malfoy, crying. Harry lay in shock, terrified to move and draw attention to the fact that he was no longer sleeping.

"No, it isn't. You were protecting your mother. They would've killed her if you hadn't obeyed. You tried to slow down as much as possible, to delay and escape, but you had to. You didn't want this mark, you know that. Yes, people hate you, but that's their fault for not realizing who you really are." Zabini whispered emphatically to Malfoy. "Go to sleep, I don't want to hear any more of this 'I'm a terrible person nonsense'. Sleep, you idiot." Harry heard the sobs drying out as he went back to sleep, still reeling with shock over what he had just heard.

The next morning, he woke up exhausted. The nightmares had been particularly bad, and he saw so many people die for him. Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Hedwig, Dobby, he even has a flashback to his parent's death due to his absorption of some of Voldemort's memories._ "It's almost like my nightmares are worse after hearing Malfoy's grief and guilt,"_ he thought but shook away the thought stubbornly. He stumbled over to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He saw Malfoy looking the same as he did, and remembered the whispered conversation he'd overheard. _"I don't think Malfoy and Zabini are as bad as I thought. Maybe they've changed, or I've misjudged them." _He ran into Ron on his way to the dining hall, who grabbed his arm as he passed.

"Harry, you look awful," He said seriously. "Who are your roommates? What happened?"

Harry sighed. "My roommates are Malfoy and Zabini, but they're not that bad. I just had some nightmares, and this night was a particularly bad one. I'll be fine, let's go get Hermione and eat." Ron nodded reluctantly, and they headed off to breakfast. Their schedules arrived with the owls, and Harry scratched the head of his new owl. He had gotten another snowy owl after Hedwig died and named her Valentina, or Tina for short. He'd changed his mind about becoming an Auror after the war and wanted to be a healer, since he wanted to save others, instead of capturing them. He had double DADA first, then a free period, then Herbology and Charms. Tomorrow he had Potions, Astronomy, then double Basic Healers Training, a free period, then History of Magic. He looked over his schedule and sighed, but shrugged it off. Almost none of his classes were with Hermione and Ron, only DADA and Astronomy, so he wasn't happy. He walked into DADA and sighed again. Malfoy and Zabini were in his class, and even after last night, and with Ron and Hermione there, he wasn't looking forward to being around either of them.

"Harry, Draco, Ernie, Lavender!" Professor di Angelo snapped. "Pay attention and get in your seats!" He jumped and rushed to sit down, and the others followed. He liked the new professor, but that didn't mean he couldn't be terrifying when irritated.

—Line Break—

Draco hurried to sit down after the professor snapped at him and the others. He might've been nice in the train, but he was still a teacher and clearly believed in discipline, and was utterly terrifying, despite his slight build. "Sorry, sir," He said, sitting down next to Blaise.

"Now, students, welcome to class. We will be taking a few short quizzes, just to see where you are, as your precious education has been rather disjointed. They are all partner quizzes, which I will choose your partner. These will also be your partners for the remainder of the year, who you will be writing with for most assignments. Listen, so I don't have to repeat myself. "Weasley, Patil. Granger, Zabini. Malfoy, Potter." He continued, but Draco was in shock. He didn't want to be partnered with Potter, not after they already had to share a room.

He moved over and sat down next to the Gryffindor as Professor di Angelo handed out the quizzes. "Look, Potter, I don't like you, and you don't like me. We both know that. But I need to get at least an E in this class, and if that means working with you, then so be it."

Potter winced at his harsh tone, but then straightened quickly and sneered back, "So kind of you to accept working with me with such courtesy, Malfoy. I need an E in this class as well, so I suppose we'll have to get along somehow. Let's just work on this quiz." The two worked in slightly sullen silence until the quizzes were finished, only talking when one person desperately needed clarification. They left with a disapproving glance from Professor di Angelo, who has clearly seen their reluctant teamwork and disproved. Draco felt slightly ashamed, he really liked the new Professor, almost as much as Snape, and he wanted to have his approval.

The next class after his free period was Herbology. When Draco walked in, he realized that Potter was in this class too, but thankfully without the other pair, Granger, and Weasley. When Professor Sprout walked in and explained that in this class, to they would be working with the same partners for the year, he sighed. _"Please not Potter, please not Potter," _He thought urgently, but they were paired together again. The same thing happened in Charms, and Draco was furious. Back in the eighth year common room, Draco seethed by the fire in a comfortable, deep lavender armchair. _"It was like all the teachers had planned this, sticking us together. Roommates, DADA, Herbology, and Charms he was partnered with Potter until Christmas break, possibly longer! Life sucks,"_ He thought mournfully. He didn't realize it, but across the room, Harry was thinking the exact same thing.

—Line Break—

Harry woke up to a hand shaking his shoulder, and he bit back a scream. He heard a worried voice saying, "Potter! Potter! Oy, don't flip out on me. Whatever it was, it's not real." He opened his eyes and saw Zabini's face hovering above his head, and he groaned.

"Sorry, Zabini, you're right, it's just a dream. It's nothing, thanks for waking me up." Hardy muttered, red-faced.

Zabini shook his head. "That was a nightmare, Potter, you're clearly not ok, and shall we call each other by our first names, since we're roomies and all?" He smiled half-heartedly, but his eyes were still worried.

"Sure, thanks, Blaise..." Harry mumbled. "And I'm fine, really." He tried to turn away, but Blaise grabbed his shoulder.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm right here. I get it, I have nightmares, so does Draco, actually. You're both about as messed up as you can get. And Harry?" he said as he finally turned away, "Try getting along with Draco. You'll both be living together, and working together on a lot of homework, so it'll help if you can be pleasant."

Harry shrugged noncommittally and got ready, mostly ignoring his two worried friends as he mentally prepped for a double Potions period with Snape. When he got there, a list was posted on the board and he groaned loudly. _"Another class with semester-long partners and his was Malfoy, again. Did the teachers plan this?"_ he wondered irately but kept it to himself. He plopped down next to Malfoy and resigned himself to another class full of taunts and awkward silence. Astronomy was even worse since he was again paired with Malfoy and could barely even talk to Ron and Hermione, since they were partnered and on the opposite side of the classroom, and this was his only other class with them. When it was time for Basic Healing, he was thrilled. There was no way Malfoy was in this class, it was only for those who wanted to be a healer, and Malfoy wouldn't want that. But he was stunned to see the boy walk in a minute after he did. Hardy marched up to Malfoy and finally let it all out. "What are you doing here? What has been going on the last two days?"

Malfoy turned, just as upset. "I don't know Potter, why are you blaming me? Back off, I don't like it any more than you do!"

Professor di Angelo suddenly strode into the room, making both boys jump, then lower their heads in shame. "Harry, Draco, follow me," He said abruptly. "For the rest of you," he said, turning to the rest of the class, "Find your partner from the list on my desk and talk about whatever. You'll be working with them for a long time, and this class requires trust and teamwork, or you could fail drastically. Your secondary Healing Academy often asks for our partner list and uses that in their work, since you will have already built the necessary bonds of trust and knowledge of the other's process. Boys, you're partners. Follow me." He walked out of the room angrily, and both boys followed nervously. They respected him, despite his youth and appearance, and didn't want to be on his bad side. He stopped in front of a medium-sized door and took out a key, unlocking it and gesturing the boys inside first.

The room was white, and various shades of purple, much like their common room. There was deep lilac, light lavender, creamy white, even some indigo. It was very soothing, and Harry could feel himself relaxing. He saw Malfoy relax out of the corner of his eyes as well. "Sir," He began hesitantly, "I'm sorry." Malfoy nodded vigorously. "It's just, Malfoy and I have been in each other's classes for the past two days, and we keep getting paired up, and neither of us like the other. We've been enemies since the first year!" Harry saw Malfoy frown, then nod reluctantly.

"Well, its time someone told you two," Professor di Angelo said almost cheerfully, a quick flip from his previous anger. "You two have the strongest bond I've seen, ever. You can both keep denying it, but you're staying here until you work it out. The door is enchanted to not let the occupants out until they've resolved their issues with each other and become true friends. You can't fake the door, and it's pretty strict. Good luck! If you're not out by your next class, I'll send someone to get the work and notes for you. " He walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Harry heard the door shut with a heavy thud, then turned to stare at the boy next to him. "We have the strongest bond he's seen?" Harry asked incredulously, though if he was being honest with himself, he didn't really doubt it that much. _"Malfoy has been the one thing I could count on every year at Hogwarts. Even though he mocked me, at least it never changed, no matter what the papers published. I can't even say that about Ron and Hermione. And I do feel bad for him, maybe even want to be friends? We are sharing a room, and I can see something similar to what I feel every day whenever I look at him."_

The blonde was looking at him with a similar contemplative expression, then smiled suddenly. "So, since we're locked in here for the foreseeable future unless we fix our relationship issues, we should probably sit down and do something productive, like talking to each other." Harry stared at him in astonishment, then laughed, nodding.


	8. Chapter 8 - New Discoveries

**Thank you all for the lovely reviews, they give me inspiration to write. And sorry that I haven't posted in ages, I didn't have WiFi over spring break, and school's been hectic. And I'm probably going to be posting an incredibly random bits of one-shots as I try to get inspiration to write. **

"So, to start out with, how do we even have a bond? Don't we hate each other?" Draco asked, aware that it sounded more like a question than he was comfortable with. To his surprise, Potter was shaking his head.

"I never hated you. I was jealous, yes. I was slightly afraid, yes. But I never hated you."

"Well," Draco admitted after a short, uncomfortable pause. "I never hated you either." He blushed suddenly. "It's really immature, but I've wanted to be your friend since first year. When you refused, I was upset and angry. I'd never really had to deal with rejection before, and I wanted to get back at you for saying no."

"Potter smiled sadly, an expression Draco had never seen on his face before. "I regretted saying no ever since. Did you know the sorting hat really wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I convinced it to put me somewhere else?" Draco's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I was afraid of losing the first person who had been kind to me, Ron, and you reminded me of my cousin."

"Draco nodded, attempting to process this new information. "Well, now that we've established that we've been idiots for seven years and that the Golden Boy is a secret Slytherin, shall we start over?" He held out his hand before Potter could say anything. "Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy, ex Death Eater. Call me Draco. Would you like to be friends?"

A slow smile spread across Potter's face, and he grasped his hand. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and Defeater of Lord Voldemort. Call me Harry, and I'd love to be your friend." They laughed, and Harry motioned towards the couch.

"Shall we sit down and catch up on seven years worth of lost friendship?" Draco nodded and they sat down next to each other. "What do you want to talk about?"

Draco tapped his chin mock-thoughtfully. "Let's start at the beginning. I grew up the spoiled, pampered pure-blood prince, whose parents gave me everything, including my antiquated views on blood supremacy and loyalty to the Dark Lord. Fortunately, I outgrew both of those but had to join the dark side anyway to save my parent's lives. How was your childhood? Spoiled rotten and taught to be the poster child of the light?"

He saw Harry's wince at the question and felt a flash of surprise and strange apprehension. Harry began slowly, "I was raised by my Muggle aunt and uncle. I didn't know about magic until Hagrid delivered my letter on my eleventh birthday. I was loyal to Dumbledore because he was the first adult who introduced me to magic. I killed Voldemort because he killed my parents, and a prophecy told me I had to. I wish I would've been in Slytherin because Gryffindor turned on me every time the papers told them to, even Ron and Hermione despite the fact that they're supposed to be my best friends. Now I can't stop wondering how many of my friends would've been my friends if I hadn't been the Boy-Who-Lived, and I hope that it would've included Ron and Hermione, but I'm only sure about the twins, Neville, and Luna." He finished hurriedly and looked away.

Draco looked closely and saw Harry was trying to hide something, obviously hoping to move on. He suddenly recognized Harry's behavior. Slytherin was more than the supposed home of evil, it was where the majority of abuse cases went as well, and any decent Slytherin could recognize the signs._ "Could Potter be abused? He said 'the first person who was kind to me' and that his aunt and uncle didn't tell him about magic. He was supposed to be in Slytherin, and I "reminded him of his cousin" in a bad way...he has terrible self esteem and doesn't think his best mates would even be his friends without his reputation. He might actually be right about that, but whatever."_ He thought in disbelief. "What did your aunt and uncle do to you, Harry?" He asked softly. He saw Potter's flinch, well hidden, and felt deep stone lodge itself in his stomach. _"I was right. There's definitely something more going on here. He's far too good at hiding this, and Gryffindors don't get enough cases to recognize these reactions for what they are." _He thought worriedly. "Harry," he continued, "were you abused?"

Harry's eyes shot up to meet his in instant denial. "No! Why would you think that?" His reaction confirmed it.

Every time he or Professor Snape had confronted a victim of abuse, they denied it. They were afraid of being called weak, or that they'd be pitied, or that their abuser would hear that they'd told. "_Dumbledore is an idiot for letting him go back, as the headmaster, He should be able to notice that something was wrong._" But when he looked at Harry's defiant face, he knew that Harry hadn't told a soul, and this was the first time anyone had truly asked him about it. "Harry, it's ok. A lot of Slytherins come from abusive families, actually." Harry's eyebrows rose slightly. Emboldened, Draco continued, "You said Ron was the first person who'd been kind, I reminded you of your cousin in a bad way, and you didn't know about magic. And you've always been small, and you flinch when people got mad or violent. I don't know how everyone has ignored the signs all these years! You're practically a poster child for abuse, not just the light side!"

Harry looked down and his breathing quickened minutely as Draco's voice grew louder. He finally spoke, whispering, "Nobody knew or saw because they assumed I'd had a perfect life, a lot like you did. Dumbledore knew I hated the Dursleys, but he didn't know how much or why. The closest anyone came was when Ron and the twins rescued me from my house second year. I had bars on my window, but I guess they were too young to really get what was happening, and the adults all thought they were exaggerating." The words spilled from Harry's mouth in a torrent, and the boy looked faintly shocked that he'd said that.

Draco looked at him, exasperated and worried about his new friend. "And didn't you tell anyone?" He demanded.

Harry shrugged, still not looking at him. "The twins actually confronted me about it once they left Hogwarts. I told them some, but not all, and they always sent me food and healing potions. I don't think I would've survived without their help. Besides, I needed to stay there because the blood wards protected me there, and I couldn't put anyone else in danger because Aunt Petunia and Uncle V-Vernon didn't like magic. Besides, it wasn't that bad, and I..." his voice trailed off, and Draco barely caught the last whispered comment. "I deserved most of it," he whispered.

Draco sat there, stunned, then realized what Harry had just told him. "Harry Potter, what? Everything you just said was wrong. First, you could've been blood adopted and the wards would've transferred, and there are additional incredibly strong wards that could protect you. Second, putting people in danger? Plenty of people were already in danger, and you being there shouldn't have made it any worse. Third, No! Any abuse is awful and should not be tolerated, and if it's bad enough you flinch any time someone yells, it's bad. And fourth, don't think I didn't hear your last comment. You did nothing to deserve any abuse. You are the bloody defeater of Voldemort, and nobody deserves abuse! You are not leaving until you tell me everything your blasted Muggle relatives put you through, and I will know if you leave something out. Now begin." Draco ordered, and Harry looked at him pleadingly. His stern expression didn't waver, however, and the story came out reluctantly. Draco listened in horror as the words came pouring out. "_He didn't know his name until he started school!" Draco thought in indignation, "he thought it was either boy or freak! And he lived in a spider-infested cupboard for eleven years, until they moved him into the smallest room and later installed bars on the window and locks and a cat flap on the door. He barely ate, was treated like a house elf, and..."_ Harry had stopped talking, and Draco could tell he was reluctant to continue. "Did your relatives ever hit you, Harry?" He asked quietly. "Mental and emotional abuse, and most likely physical," he thought in despair. "How on earth did he hide this long?" He saw Harry's nod. "How, Harry?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry looked away. "Uncle Vernon, with a belt. And Dudley used to go 'Harry Hunting' with his friends. It wasn't bad, and I always deserved it!" He protested. "I burnt that food, I did accidental magic, I didn't finish my chores in time, I talked back, plenty!"

Draco shook his head. "Show me your back, Harry," He continued in that low, soft voice, though inside he was fuming. Harry wavered, but shucked his shirt and turned around. Draco gasped silently at the sight. Faint white scars marred the tanned skin, the age testifying to years of similar treatment. Draco grabbed Harry tightly from behind and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Nobody deserves that, Harry." He felt the smaller boy stiffen at the sudden contact, but relax slightly at his words. A sudden tremor shivered through Harry, and Draco let go, only to turn the other boy around and hug him from the front. "Harry, you are an amazing, kind, loyal person, who did nothing to deserve such treatment. And if you tell anyone about me acting like this, I will murder you." A feeble laugh came from Harry and he snuggled further into Draco's embrace. "I'm never going to live this down." Draco thought, but he picked the boy next to him up and placed him in his lap. Harry immediately curled up and hugged the Slytherin tighter, still crying silently. Draco sighed and hugged him back. Harry was so small he fit easily into Draco's embrace, and boys sat there, Harry crying silently, Draco stroking his hair comfortingly until Harry stopped crying and sat up.

"Thanks, Draco," he said, blushing faintly.  
Draco shook his head. "You are in so much trouble." He said sternly. "First, we are going to find Professor di Angelo and Professor Snape and tell them, or show them a Pensive memory of our entire conversation. Possibly include Professor McGonagall in all that and Madame Pomfrey. Then we are finding Neville and Luna, maybe the rest of your Golden Trio, but not the Weaselette or any of your other lovely fellow Gryffindors. Then you are writing a letter to whoever else should know this, which in my opinion includes the Weasley twins, but I'd steer clear of their parental units. Then with your permission, I will introduce you to the rest of Slytherin house, of which you are now an honorary member, since you already were a secret member, and I will tell Blaise and Pansy, my two best friends, enough details about your past life to satisfy their curiosity and provoke a protective rage enough to cover you from the Dark Lord himself. Any questions?" Harry's eyes were wide at the end of the mild rant, and he shook his head wordlessly. The door swung open without either of them touching it, and they stared in shock until Draco shrugged and dragged Harry forward.

—Line Break—

"Nico felt the wards he put on the door of the room containing the two boys pop as they quickly opened it. "Well, that was shorter than I expected, but with that sort of bond, it would be hard to resist at least talking to the other." He rounded the corner and strode towards the room, nearly running into a determined and angry Draco Malfoy dragging a reluctant, faintly tear-stained, slightly relieved, and worried Harry Potter by the hand. "Out so soon, boys?" He asked in amusement mixed with mild alarm at their expressions. "I wasn't expecting you two until tomorrow evening. How was your time?" He joked.

Draco smirked at the comment but it suddenly dropped off his face. "Can we talk somewhere private, Professor?" He asked politely, but urgently. "And can you call Professor Snape, Headmistress McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey here as well?"

Nico scanned his face, then nodded sharply. "Let's go back to the room. Nobody can get in with permission, and the couches are quite comfy." As he walked, Nico sent out three Patronuses to the professors Draco has requested, asking them to meet him urgently in the 'reconciliation room' as they'd dubbed it last night. They walked briskly back to the room and sat down. The two former enemies sat quite closer to each other on the couch, Nico noticed in amusement, with Draco wrapping a comforting arm around Harry. The other professors suddenly burst into the room, looking around quickly to find Nico, who held up a hand to prevent questions and waved them over. "All right, What's the problem?" he asked.

Draco looked at Harry, who looked pleadingly back at him. The blonde sighed but began. "Harry and I have all the same classes and kept being partnered. We exploded at each other in basic healers training, and Professor di Angelo left us here to work ourselves out. We did, and in the process, I found some information that I think you should know about Harry, and he has reluctantly agreed to share." All four adults looked between the two boys with raised eyebrows, wondering where this was going. Harry shrank under their gazes, but with some gentle prodding from Draco, the whole story came spilling out. "And I thought you should know, since Harry can't stay there, obviously, and he still technically needs a guardian until 25 since wizards live so much longer." Draco finished quickly.

Harry nodded fervently. "Yeah, this year wasn't so bad, but I really don't want to stay with the Dursleys any more than I absolutely have to."

Nico was the first one to break the heavy silence. "Thank you, Draco for bringing this to our attention. Harry, to reiterate what Draco said, you absolutely did not deserve the treatment you received from the Dursleys, and we will find you new magical and Muggle guardians. I personally would enjoy getting your despicable relatives thrown in jail for child abuse and neglect, and I have a very, very good lawyer who is absolutely free, for me at least. Thank you both for sharing this."

"Harry," came the surprising words from Professor Snape of all people, "I know who your magical guardian is." He looked down, then back up, and whispered, "it's me. I only found out over the summer! Lily named me godfather as well as Sirius Black, so as your last godparent, I am your guardian. By default, I should also be your physical guardian, since I doubt Dumbledore had any real legal authority to place you with the Dursleys." The words rushed out before he looking away.

Everyone sat silently, shocked at the admission. Draco spoke first. "That's great, Harry!" The boy in question looked up at his friend, confusion and disbelief were written clearly across his face. "Professor Snape is my godfather, so we see each other all the time, even over the summer, so that means we can see each other whenever! And this means we're godbrothers, which is also awesome." A smile broke out across both faces at this comment, and all four professors looked at each other, surprised and alarmed.

"_Wow, they really got past the whole enemies thing._" Nico thought."_And what have we done, those two partnered together will be the undoing of the entire school._" He looked over and saw the other teachers were thinking the exact same thing.

Harry nodded cheerfully. "Alright, Professor, thanks! I'm," his voice suddenly became quiet. "I'm really glad not to have to go back there." He finished quickly, then stood up slowly. He pulled Draco up with him then looked at the set of adults. "We're going to find our friends," He said hurriedly.

—Line Break—

The pair ran out of the room, relieved that the teachers were done with. "_Now all I have to do is tell Neville, Luna, and the twins about this_," Harry thought nervously. "_Shoot, they're going to be really upset with me, aren't they? But I think I'll wait to tell Ron and 'Mione about this, at least until they react to me being an 'honorary Slytherin' and friends with Draco, Blaise, and Pansy." _He glanced sideways at Draco, who was pulling him along by the hand and decided on one more attempt at getting out of the conversation. "So, Draco, do I have to tell them about this? I mean, I've been fine just denying everything for the past eighteen years. Why change now?"

Harry was fixed with a stern glare. "Because repression is an unhealthy method of coping that often leads to strong, random, and usually uncontrollable bursts of emotion, usually anger, triggered by stress. These bursts of emotion can lead to uncontrollable bursts of magic, similar to a child's first magic before entering Hogwarts." Harry blinked, startled. Draco continued, "and friends should be there for you no matter what, and they can't do that unless you tell them what's wrong. So we are finding Longbottom and Lovegood, who on a side note, I think are dating, and telling them this. Wait, are you telling the Golden Duo?" Harry shook his head mutely, and Draco continued unphased, "excellent, so we can skip those two, then head to Slytherin, after which you will write that letter, then introduce Granger and Weasley to just our new friendship. Good luck, but have no fear, I'll help with most of that."

Draco suddenly switched topics and began talking about his favorite quidditch team, and all Harry could catch in his dazed state was that the team had been wildly successful the last couple years after making a comeback, which effectively ruled out Ron's favorite, the Chudley Cannons. Finally, they spotted Neville talking to Luna in the fourth-floor corridor, and Harry paused for a moment to consider the idea that they were dating. "_It's certainly not impossible, and they'd make a wonderful match._"/em He quickly refocused on his upcoming doom. "Guys, can Draco and I talk to you all in private?" He asked nervously.

They looked at him in surprise but gestured to the room across from them. "Sure, Harry," Neville said as they walked in. Before starting, Draco immediately cast a string of privacy and silencing spells on the room, and Harry shot him a grateful look as they sat down. Neville spoke, looking between the two in confusion. "Ok, what is happening? You called Malfoy by his first name, you look like you were crying a while ago, and Malfoy cast some seriously strong spells in the room and you're completely ok with everything."

Luna smiled dreamily at the three boys. "Don't you see, Neville? They've finally found the bond. Perhaps now they'll be more cheerful, as the nargles can leave them alone. Nargles get very upset when people don't recognize their bonds, which makes it hard for those people to concentrate, control their temper, and be positive."

Harry winced. "Thanks for the explanation Luna, so for a bit more context, we've had every class together, blew up at each other this morning, so Professor di Angelo locked us in a room together and told us to work out our differences. We did and found out Draco didn't want to be a Death Eater and I was severely abused by my relatives, but I thought it was ok and for the greater good, and when Draco found out he flipped, made me tell some Professors, tell you as my friends, and is later inviting me to become a Slytherin and forcing me to write Fred and George Weasley." Draco smirked at the stunned expression on one face and the smug, dreamy look on the other and proceeded to explain all the details Harry missed. In the end, Neville and Luna were practically glued to Harry in a death hug and ready to resurrect Dumbledore to kill him. Harry escaped quickly, overwhelmed by their reactions and Luna's comment about the moon shining brighter because of his happiness. He had almost made it to the stairs when Draco caught him and dragged him to the Slytherin common room.

"This is Harry Potter, for anyone who didn't know," he announced loudly as they entered. "He is now an honorary Slytherin and shall be treated as such, or face my wrath." Harry shrank under the weight of all the stares until Draco pushed him forward while grabbing a tall, swarthy, Italian boy and a pug faced girl who were sitting in twin tall armchairs by the fire. "Come on you two, we need to talk," he demanded as he dragged them out of the common room and into what looked like a study room, with tables, some chairs, and two comfy looking couches.

"Drake, why in Merlin's name did you adopt Harry Potter and announce it to the entire house?" The girl demanded as soon as the door shut.

Draco sighed and sat down, dragging Harry along with him. "Blaise, Pans, you might want to sit down for this." He looked between them and said, very softly, "Harry was badly abused, Dumbledore knew yet chose to do nothing. Harry thought it was acceptable and he deserved it, and only just told Longbottom and Lovegood at my insistence, and is unsure of the sincerity of Weasley and Granger's friendship."

He looked between the two opposite him and wrapped a comforting arm around Harry as he saw the looks of astonishment and anger grow. "How bad are we talking?" Blaise asked innocently, a cool look suddenly overtaking his face.

"Physical, mental, emotional, and extreme neglect, including medical. Honestly, without going to Hogwarts for nine months and his magic, he probably would be dead." Draco continued in the same tone. All four sat silently, Harry fidgeting uncomfortably and the Slytherins dead still. A few tense seconds later Blaise and Pansy stood up simultaneously and strode to the door. Draco popped up and dragged Harry along with them, back to the common room. "Just watch, this is going to be good!" He whispered, almost gleefully.

"Listen, everyone," Pansy announced in her shrill voice.

"We've adopted Potter too, so hands-off and be nice or face the consequences." Blaise finished loudly. The rest of the room froze in shock for the second time in ten minutes, and Harry could only blink in disbelief.

Pansy whirled on Harry and Draco. "Where is Professor Snape?" She inquired coolly.

"He's upstairs, probably talking to Headmistress McGonagall and maybe Professor di Angelo," Harry answered quietly, matching Pansy's new volume. She smirked and turned to march away, but Harry caught her shoulder. "Wait, why do you want to know?" He asked suspiciously.

She smiled sweetly at him. "I just wanted to ask, since he's the expert in abuse cases, even for other houses, why in Merlin's name he didn't see you." Her tone was deceptively light as she continued, "and for that matter, why on earth McGonagall didn't see it either, as she is your head of house and went through the basic training for recognizing abuse."

Harry winced. "Well, we never really saw her. She only showed up in emergencies. We were always supposed to ask the prefects, but they were always busy, so we just kinda did our own thing." He shrugged it off.

"So let me get this straight," Blaise said in disbelief. "Your head of house barely showed up, your prefects did almost nothing. I'm going to assume nobody gave you an introduction to Hogwarts, a map, a tour, a copy of the school rules, and basic classroom help, like learning to use a quill properly and study groups?"

Harry shook his head "we got a quick tour the first night up to the common room. We were told to ask the ghosts or the paintings if we got lost, to avoid Peeves, and when curfew was. I didn't even know there was a map of Hogwarts, a list of rules, or how to write with a quill. We just muddled our way along." He shrugged.

"We need to get help to Gryffindor, fast," Draco said, apparently just as shocked as Blaise. "Good thing McGonagall isn't head anymore, it was far too much. Hopefully, Professor Sinistra will be better."

Pansy grabbed Draco and Blaise and towed them along, dragging Harry as well, who was still being held onto by Draco. "This chat has been lovely and informative," she said, and an evil smirk spread across her face. "But I have some professors to question, and you three are coming too."


	9. Chapter 9 - A Further Explanation

Harry nervously followed Pansy out of the dungeons as she stormed to the Headmistress office. The the boys decided to follow in silence. "_Pansy is scary..._" Harry thought as they came to a stop in front of the gargoyle guarding the office.

"Move, now," Pansy snarled at it, "I have a bone to pick with McGonagall over a completely missed case of child abuse." The gargoyle looked at her, then swiveled his head to look at Harry. It jumped aside, much to his astonishment. Even more surprising was the hug it suddenly grabbed Harry in as he went past. "Awww, the gargoyle likes you!" Pansy cooed, much to Harry's embarrassment, and he huffily followed her up the stairs. The door opened for the four of them, revealing Headmistress McGonagall and Professors di Angelo and Snape. "Wonderful," Pansy said in a sickly sweet voice, "the two professors I needed to see!"

"What are you talking about Miss Parkinson?" Professor Snape says in a cool voice. "And how did you get up here?" added Headmistress McGonagall in an equally cool, yet slightly bewildered voice. Harry glanced pleadingly at Professor di Angelo, but the man only smiled and sat back, clearly knowing what was going on and enjoying it.

"I assume you already know about Harry's issues at home," Pansy said calmly. "Now I want to know why you two didn't notice and stop it earlier, while it took a new professor and a student with a seven year grudge less than a day to find out everything and actually do something about it." She looked expectantly between them, and when no response came, turned to Harry. "Harry dear, can you tell me why you didn't tell your head of house you were abused?"

He looked down and stubbed his toe across the carpet. "Every time in the past, when teachers or strangers would notice and recognize the abuse and neglect, they'd talk to the Dursleys and file a complaint. But nothing ever happened. The next day the adult would've completely forgotten, and wouldn't believe a word I'd say, and my relatives would only get worse. When I came here, I told headmaster Dumbledore everything, but he said it was for the greater good. Professor Snape hated me from day one, and..." he trailed off, his already quiet voice turning into an inaudible whisper.

McGonagall looked at him heavily. "You didn't trust me, did you?" she asked, and Harry nodded, shrugging apologetically. At the questioning looks from the Slytherins in the room, she elaborated. "His first year, he came to me with concerns about Professor Quirrell and the Philosopher's Stone. I dismissed him, which proved to be a mistake as he was correct in the end. Second year nobody, including me, really believed him about the Heir of Slytherin. Same with fourth year and the Triwizard Tournament. Fifth year was Dolores Umbridge, who was awful. Is that all, Harry?" She asked heavily.

"I..." he trailed off uncertainly, then rushed through his sentence quickly. "I haven't managed a nonlife threatening year yet. First year was the Philosophers Stone, second year was the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk, third year was Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, fourth was the Triwizard Tournament, fifth was Umbridge, Occlumency, and the Department of Mysteries battle, sixth year was the horcruxes and Dumbledore dying, seventh was the rest of the horcruxes on the run and the final battle. Nobody, including Ron and Hermione, stuck with me through all of those. Well, I'm pretty sure Neville and Luna believed me, but we weren't really friends. And fifth year was the real tipping point, because Umbridge was using a blood quill on the students for detention. In the past, you ignoring me really only hurt me, but you didn't listen to anyone else either. The students only got it once or twice, but I had detention so much it's permanently scarred and I still get pain in that hand sometimes. When I asked for help you just told me to basically suck it up and that you couldn't do anything..." He trailed off at their looks. "You didn't know? Professors, surely you knew, right? I mean, more than half the Gryffindors and a lot of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws got it. No Slytherin, though," he said thoughtfully.

"I don't even know where to start with that." Draco said indignantly. "You were in life-threatening situations every year, that McGonagall ignores your continued attempts at gaining assistance during, or..." he trailed off, unable to continue. "Did you get any scars from school?" he asked nervously.

Harry held out his arm. "That's where the basilisk bit me, but Fawkes healed it," he moved onto his hand, where in his messy handwriting shone silver'I must not tell lies', "and that's where the blood quill cut," he gestured all over himself, "and there's more just random wear and tear all over. Quidditch, the Whomping Willow, Forbidden Forest, couple of curses, whatever. Those two are my only really clear ones." The other occupants of the room started at him in disbelief.

"You were bitten by a basilisk and you have a scar from the blood quill?" Pansy said loudly, voice even shriller in her anger. "And you said it so matter of facts," she says, suddenly suspicious. "You think it was ok! Not the blood quill, maybe, but you think the basilisk and other deathly situations are fine, even normal!"

Draco jumped in as the teachers watched the three students, impressed that they had gotten over the grudge this quickly. "Harry, being put in life threatening dissuasions is not normal, and like Pansy said, the blood quill was not ok."

"Harry, blood quills are very illegal, except when signing official documents at Gringotts." Blaise said slowly. "Using then on minors, unless emancipated or with specific guardian consent, and under goblin supervision is an offense punishable by Azkaban," he finished. Harry blinked, more startled by this than he was at the rest of their explanations.

Professor McGonagall looked even more tired and ashamed now while Draco snarled at the professors. "So let's review," he said angrily. "Harry was abused for years, someone magical stopped any attempts to help, Dumbledore knew yet did nothing, hits head of house didn't listen to him then lost his trust, and Professor Snape was so blinded by his immediate hatred of Harry that he couldn't see the truth."

"That sounds about right," a cold voice said slowly, and they all turned to face Professor di Angelo, whom they'd forgotten was even in the room with them. He stood up, and despite his height, he was terrifying and intimidating. "The teachers at this school are immature and don't build trusting relationships with their students. This led to multiple serious injuries of one of your students, and the mild hurt of many more. Because of an old, far too powerful man's manipulation, a child slipped through the cracks. No wonder I was sent to help these children. He faced death every year, actually died to save you all, and you didn't even trust or support him through it all." The two other teachers looked down in shame, and he rolled up one of his sleeves. "This tattoo represents several of my patrons." Nico traced the pack of wolves running to his arm under a misty moon. "These wolves represent one of them in particular. Her main rule involves family, or her pack." His voice dropped to a deathly whisper, one far more intimidating than if he'd yelled. "One who is strong enough to fit in, to gain entrance to her pack, once there, will be taken care of, never left behind. That is the opposite of what has happened at this school, and that must change, or everything will crumble." He stood up and left, closing the door silently behind him.

Draco beamed at Harry, who gave his first true smile in a long time back. "I like him," Draco announced. "He's far better than the rest of you so far," he paused thoughtfully, "even if he looks young and is almost our age."

—Line Break—

Harry shifted nervously, standing just outside the entry to the dining hall. He could smell the food, and knew Ron, and Hermione with him, would be along soon. He saw the pair in the distance, hands intertwined and laughing about something. As they approached, Harry nervously grabbed Ron's arm. "Hey, mate, can I talk to you?" He asked.

"Sure, Harry, what's up?" Hermione asked. She closely examined his face, and her forehead creased. "What's got you so worried?" she asked, feeling his forehead. "You're not sick, are you? You're rather pale and clammy, maybe you should sit down and we'll get Madame Pomfrey."

Harry grabbed her arm as she suddenly started to walk, dragging him along. "Please 'Mione, listen to me," Harry pleaded.

Ron stepped in front of them, putting his hands out firmly. "Woah, Hermione, why don't we listen to Harry. That usually solves whatever the problem is, and you do jump to conclusions." The lanky redhead slowly prised her fingers off Harry's arm and took her hand. "Now Harry, what's the matter?" He asked, taking charge of the situation. He'd gotten a lot more confident and level headed after the war, though a few topics still roused his infamous, fiery temper.

"Well, you guys know how I share a room with Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy, right?" Harry asked cautiously, receiving tow confused nods in return. He took a deep breath and continued, "well Draco and I both want to be healers, so we were partnered in every class. We eventually exploded at each other." Ron smirked, but said nothing, so Harry said, "we were locked in a room together by Professor di Angelo, and we are now friends." Seeing Ron's angry glare, and Hermione's incredulous look, he hastily continued, "and now I'm an honorary Slytherin and I'm going to hang out with them as well."

He paused and waited for their reactions. He didn't need to wait long before Ron erupted. His face turned bright red, same shade as his he, and he took a few steps forward, entire body clenched and trembling with fury as he shouted, "You're friends with, and became, a Slytherin! I thought we were friends, but I guess you don't care, since you rather have your snake buddies!" He shouted. Hermione places a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down, but he shook it off and glared at Harry. "You know what? You can choose, them or me?" He stabbed a finger in Harry's face, "them or me, do you hear? I won't be friends with someone who chooses to associate with slimy death eater snakes, especially that ferret Malfoy!"

Harry took a step back, but said firmly, "a real friend wouldn't make me choose, Ron! Draco, Blaise, and Pansy don't want me to stop being friends with you two, or any other of my Gryffindor friends! You shouldn't either!" Ron shook his head, speechless with anger, then started to storm off to the dining hall to the eighth year table to shovel his mouth full of food, but Ginny was walking by and heard them. She marched over and slapped Ron hard across the face. Ron sputtered, staring at her incredulously.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" she shrilled, "your absolute idiot! Harry and you have been best friends since first year, you hid out in the woods and faced death together, and you're upset because he matured and made some friends?" Ron kept sputtering as she grabbed his arm and frog matched him away, still yelling about her mother and Fred and George hearing about his words.

Harry looked down, discouraged by Ron's reaction but laughing slightly at Ginny, until he felt a gentle hand on his arm. "Harry," Hermione said softly, "I don't like you being friends with Malfoy, but not because he's a Slytherin or a death eater. Remember school? His taunts hurt, Harry, and I don't know why or how you can forgive him, or the rest of them, for that." He started to speak, defend himself, but she cut him off. "I don't want the explanation now, I need some time to process this," she said firmly. "I won't make you choose, Harry, but I won't be friends with them either." She turned and walked into the hall away from him.

Suddenly not hungry, Harry walked back to his dorm room. He sat limply on his bed, staring at the wall. "I thought we were friends," Harry whispered to himself, "even if we argued, we always reconciled. But I've never seen either so upset before." He someone come into the room, but ignored them, staring into nothing as he thought about Ron.

"Hey, Harry," He heard as they shook his shoulder gently. "What's wrong? Did you eat?" He looked to see Blaise standing next to his bed. He shook his head silently and pulled his legs up, curling with his back to the headboard of his bed. "You need to eat, Harry," Blaise sighed as he sat next to him on the bed. "What's wrong? Would you rather talk to Draco?" He asked gently.

Harry shook his head sadly, "it's Ron," he sighed. "I told him about us being friends and he completely flipped. He really wasn't happy about us sharing a room, but apparently my befriending off you was a betrayal. He's making me choose, Blaise, you guys or him. I mean, Ginny might talk some sense into him, but he still said it." He looked at the Italian with pain filled eyes. "How can I choose? He was my best mate, my first friend, but he turned on me so many times over the years, and I can't help the feeling that a real friends wouldn't make me choose like this," he whispered. "And Draco was the first person to see and do something about the abuse, and I really like you guys, and I am sharing a room with you two for the rest of the year. I just don't know what to do!" Harry looked away at the end of his outburst and started picking at his bedspread.

"I don't know how to help you, Harry," Blaise sighed as he sat down on the bed and put an arm around Harry. "All I can tell you is to think about how you expect your friends to treat you, and how you treat them. Are those two things equal? You're loyal to your friends, are they loyal to you? Really, it's up to you, but you know Draco, Pansy, Longbottom, Lovegood and I are all here for you. Now I think you have one more thing to do. You promised Draco you'd wrote the Weasley twins, remember?" He laughed and bumped Harry's shoulder. "Good luck with that, I'm expecting them to storm the castle once they get your letter. I've already bet on it with Pansy and Draco. I'm betting an in-person visit, Draco is betting on a lengthy letter, and Pansy thinks they'll kidnap you." He laughed again at Harry's shocked face and moved out the door. Good luck!" He called cheerfully, and Harry groaned and pulled out some parchment and a quill to write the twins.


	10. Chapter 10 -Comforting Magic

**So, sorry for taking so long then posting three chapters all ay once, but...hee you go? I promise not to abandon this.**

Nico smiled as he lay down in his bed. The two boys he'd been told specifically to help were getting along, finally recognizing the potential for a revolutionary friendship. He closed his eyes, hoping that the good luck for the day would spill over into the dreams. Tartarus had been coming about five times a week in an irregular pattern, so he didn't have the ability to prepare himself well, and the surprise made the mental agony worse.

"Pup!" A voice called, and he opened his dream eyes to see golden mist surrounding him. "Pup, listen to me!" He turned around to see Lupa and Artemis standing behind him."My ladies!" He cried, bowing immediately. Lupa padded forward and nudged his cheek, slightly taller than him due to his short stature.

Artemis smiles and waved her hand, dismissing his formality."Nico, our champion," Artemis began gently, which only made Nico more nervous. She was never that gentle unless it was really bad news. "Tartarus is gathering an army to attack. We aren't sure what target he will go for first, but we do know he wants revenge on both you and Perseus and Annabeth, for defying him in his own territory." Nico sat down hard, mind blanking at the news she continued, "we do, however, suspect that he will attack you and Hogwarts first because he has gathered allies from this world too. The Death Eaters, I believe they were called?" He nodded numbly, and she continued with a huff of warm air against his cheek. "Beware, child, he comes before the winter solstice. It has only been three days since you arrived at Hogwarts, so you have some time, but not much. Train the children in defensive and offensive magic, as well as physical defense. When the time comes, remember that you can call Artemis' hunters, and your few loyal friends will come too."

He nodded and got shakily to your feet."Thank you for the warning, m'lady, I will prepare. Do you know what monsters he has gathered? Or what wizarding allies?" Nico said, trying to mask his fear under a mask of and Artemis shook their heads, but then Artemis surprisingly reached out and hugged him. "Remember, champion, we chose you for a reason. And expect another few visitors at the school. You have more allies than you think. And I will send you a companion of sorts to help you at school."

He nodded, still shocked, and the golden mist dissipated and the two goddesses disappeared from his flashed around him, streaks of bloody red swirled around him, then he headed Tartarus' voice crooned mock-gently, "Welcome back, little hero. I have such wonderful news to tell you."

Nico felt the far too familiar chains circle his wrists, and he woke suddenly, to pounding on his door, he quickly assessed his injuries and winced. _"Nothing broken, blood from my arms and legs, back mostly fine, but burns on my sides."_ He called to the knocker, "One moment!" He threw off his bloody clothes and swallowed a few mouthfuls of nectar. He wound a quick bandage around his arms, one around his legs, slapped some cream on his sides. He pulled a loose black sweatshirt over his torso and some loose sweatpants on his legs, then yanked the door open.

Blaise Zabini stopped outside his door, breathing short and panicked, shifting and glancing over his shoulder uncomfortably."Professor di Angelo!" He cried, "Harry and Draco—nightmares—won't wake up—screaming—silencing charms—help!"Nico grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at him.

"Breathe, Mr. Zabini," he coaxed, "now tell me what happened, calmly."

The boy nodded and started over. "I share a room with Harry and Draco, and I knew they both had nightmares, but they've never been this bad before! I tried to wake both of them up, but nothing is working and now I'm scared they'll hurt themselves! I put up silencing charms around our room, since I know Draco wouldn't want this broadcasted, and I'm pretty sure Harry feels the same way. I also grabbed Theodore Nott to watch them, but he was tired and confused and doesn't know how to help. Can you do something, sir?" Blaise panted as he finished his explanation, clearly still extremely worried about his friends.

"Yes, Mr. Zabini, I will help your friends," Nico promised calmly, then strode off to the shared room. Once he arrived, he saw the two boys, each one clearly trapped in a nightmare, but in vastly different positions. Harry was curled up at the foot of his bed, curled in a fetal position with his arms shielding his head. He would shiver and whimper occasionally but didn't scream. Draco, on the other hand, had his limbs flailing and was begging for what was unclear.

Nico canceled their bed-specific silencing charms and put one over the entire room. As Harry continued to whimper, Draco pleaded, "no, please, no, I'll do anything but don't hurt them!" Nico motioned Blaise and a confused Theodore Nott to one side before moving to Draco's bed. He gently restricted his flailing limbs and hummed softly to calm him.

Draco's pleas tapered off until he stopped. At this, Nico motioned Blaise over, murmuring, "calm him, reassure him that his family is safe, his friends are safe, and that he is safe. Don't let him panic or start flailing again, but don't touch him unless absolutely necessary." Nico turned to Harry's bed, where the teen was still rocking and whimpering in the corner. "Harry," he cooed, ignoring the startled looks from Theodore Nott at his use of Harry's first name. "Harry, _tesoro_, wake up. Come here," He crooned softly, sitting on the bed next to him, but not touching him. At his gentle words, Harry's eyes flew open and looked around wildly before launching himself at Nico, who caught him easily, expecting the reaction. Despite his small size, Nico lifted Harry easily and carried him over to Draco's bed, where the blonde teen was still being reassured by Blaise. "Draco," he said, just as gently as he'd spoken to Harry, "Draco, _bambino_, look at me," he coaxed again. The shaking face turned towards him contained wide, unresponsive silver eyes with huge pupils set in the too pale and too thin frame made him wince, but he continued, "Draco, _bambino_, come here. Look at me, look at Harry. Blaise and Theodore are here, your parents are safe, you are safe." He let some of his power slip into his voice. He was naturally more powerful than most wizards as a demigod, even without his extra blessings. The power curled throughout the room, and he saw Blaise and Theo sag, relaxing into it, and felt Harry press closer to him. Draco, like Harry, flew at Nico and grabbed onto him fiercely. Nico just rocked the two in his arms gently, providing stability and letting his own magic reach out to theirs, calming and reassuring their magic that he would protect their he let his magic relax to a gentle thrum, he saw Blaise and Theo staring at him. He smiled at them and nodded. "Ask your questions, boys, I'll try to answer."

Theodore was the first to speak up, shaking his head, confused. "Professor, how did you know what to do? And why shouldn't we touch them before they woke? And why did you use their names? And was that your magic we just felt? I thought Dumbledore and-and the D-Dark L-L-Lord were powerful, but you, and whatever your magic did...I almost want to panic but I can't because my magic tells me so strongly I'm safe." Blaise just nodded mutely along to Theo's questions, blinking and opening and closing his mouth silently.

"I am well versed in dealing with nightmares," Nico told them with a sigh, "both from personal experience and assisting others. No touching relates to the probable content of the dreams. Harry was most likely remembering his abuse at the hands of his awful family, and Draco most likely remembers his torture from Voldemort. Both negatively associate touch with those memories, so touching them unaware would cause a harmful reaction. I used their names for the same reason I did not touch them, their given names are something most often used by those of safety and trust, not by those featured in the dream-memories." He paused and took a breath, then continued softly, "Yes, that was my magic, and yes, I am at the very least equally powerful to Dumbledore and Voldemort. And you can't have a panic attack right now because your magic feels me and my magic's reassurance of your safety, and tells you that. You are both pureblood, correct?" They nodded, confused. "Many muggle-borns, half-bloods, and pure-bloods raised without the traditional wizarding upbringing are not so in touch with their magic, and this would not feel this calm so strongly."

Blaise nodded thoughtfully. "This might be controversial," he said thoughtfully, "but that's what my mum says that's part of what the Dark Lord originally stood for, back before he became completely insane near the end of the first war."

"And to introduce wizarding customs earlier to muggle-borns, and screen their homes for abuse." Theo chimed in. Nico nodded and smiled at the pair. "Blaise!" Theo cried suddenly, "that's it! We can introduce those changes!" Blaise looked skeptical, but he nodded to continued regardless. "Harry is Lord Potter-Black and is certainly popular enough to drive many to follow him. Draco can get support from darker neutral places Harry might not reach. Blaise, you and I have the great grades in Slytherin, and you wanted to be an accountant, and I will inherit the Nott Lordship from my great uncle and I want to be a lawyer! We've got all our bases covered, Harry for Wizengamot seats with light and neutral voters, Draco with darker support, Blaise with money and math skills along with logic, and I have more dark seats and an interest in law." Nico smiled at his enthusiasm and tried to hide just how pleased he was by the plan for reform.

"What?" Came a slightly slurred voice. "What's going on?"Nico looked at Harry, who he was still holding, supporting most of his weight as the boy tried to sit up.

"You had a nightmare, _tesoro_, and your friends came to me for help. It really was wise of them, Nightmares are nasty things if left alone too long." He paused and looked at the wobbly, pale teen. "I know I suggested you tell your friends, and that advice still stands. They might," he paused and gestured meaningfully towards Draco with his head, who was still pale and attached to Nico, "be able to help you better than you'll expect." Harry nodded thoughtfully and slowly let go, though he looked like he regretted the loss of human contact, but Blaise quickly moved in and hugged him in a rare bit of physical contact. Nicolooked carefully at Draco. "Draco, _bambino_, look at me," he coaxed. "_Harry is probably more used to dealing with his nightmares on his own, while these are still new and this was really bad,_" Nico thought. He put his hand on the trembling green-clad shoulder furthest from him, tilting the teen lightly to look him dead in the eyes. "Draco, it's not a bad thing to have nightmares. _Bambino_, it's normal, especially for you. Harry has them, I have them, even Blaise and Theo have them. Talk about them with your friends, it'll help." He waited for Draco's hesitant nod before he continued. "Now, I must go, but I'll see you in the morning." He stood up and straightened his pants, then left for the door. As he crawled back into bed, he sighed in mingled pain and relief. The boys were ok, but his body still hurt after Tartarus. He slumped down and attempted to sleep, dozing through the call for dinner.

**I added the Italian because I think Nico would slip into it when he's taking care of someone, in remembrance of Bianca, when she'd take care of him. And remember...this fic will be mostly gen, no real pairings other than some side Percabeth and a bit of Ron/Hermione (which I might break up because I just don't like that pairing...they fight SO much...), to explain why she turned on Harry (Ron's a jealous boyo, of course, he would...)(but she'll come back because Hermione isn't an idiot) (but I also like Ron in some cases, but somebody's got to take the fall...I don't know, maybe I'll pile it on Mrs. Weasley-Mrs. Weasley really, really, really should've noticed something was wrong with Harry before second year, and all those other times, she's a mother and her sons told her they ripped BARS off Harry's window, that's at least worth investigating.) Finally, I call a lot of people darlin', completely platonically, especially when they're upset, so that spilled over to Nico. And nobody will be paired with Draco, Harry, or Nico, because they're my main characters and I can't write romance well, maybe some side pairings..**


	11. Chapter 11 - Twin Planning

Draco curled into himself a bit more and let out a tiny, inaudible whimper. He couldn't fall back asleep after that awful nightmare, and he desperately longed for human contact to ground him and reassure him that he was safe and at Hogwarts. Suddenly, a hand gently brushed his shoulder and he twisted slightly to see Blaise standing at the edge of his bed. "Do you want to sleep in my bed for tonight, Draco?" He asked gently. Draco nodded, too emotionally exhausted to formulate an actual reply, and Blaise gently steered him over to his bed, which was magically enlarged. Harry was in a similar state to Draco, so Blaise reached out a hand and beckoned him over as well. Harry's shoulders slumped in clear relief before he quietly clambered out of his bed and headed towards Blaise's bed. He silently got in and curled up at the right edge, while Blaise stretched out in the middle and Draco took the left. As the night progressed, Harry and Draco drifted closer to Blaise until they were practically a human knot in the center of the large bed.

In the morning, two silent figures crept into the eighth year dorms and knocked on Nico's door. "Professor di Angelo! Nico! Prank buddy! Open up!" They called, and the door slowly crept open. They stared at him in mild alarm, then busted their way inside and turned to face him. Nico was dressed in his customary black outfit, but the twins could see the hint of bandages peeking from his collar and his ankle, and there was a strong smell of herbs and medicine mingling with a faint smell of rust and salt they associated with blood. "Do you have something to tell us?" One tall, shadowy figure asked suspiciously.

"Perhaps, Fred, but I'm not going to answer that question right now. Why are you here?"

The two figures the back their hoods, revealing the flaming red hair and identical grinning faces of the Weasley twins. "Well, Nico, old chap," Fred began,

"We received a most disturbing letter from our..."

"...adopted little brother, and had to come to check..."

"... up on him. So we thought we'd run our kidnapping..."

"... idea by you, so nobody worries about the Boy-Who-Lived..."

"...disappearing from school, even though it's a Saturday." George finished their message.

Nico inclined his head and nodded. "You can take Harry and up to ten friends along with you, but I expect a message with the names of those who you've taken, and they have to be back by Sunday night." The twins grinned and raced off, but one doubled back quickly.

"Don't think we've forgotten those bandages or that blood, Nico di Angelo," George said sternly. "We'll be talking," then he raced off after Fred. They slipped into the room marked with Harry's name and found ask three residents tangled together in a mix of pale, dark, and tan limbs in the center bed. Draco and Harry's faces were still slightly tear-stained, but the boys looked peaceful and content. "Awwww, Fred, said George, "it's a pile of child! We should cast something to save this until we get the others to see!" His twin nodded, so he cast a mild sleeping charm and silencing charms around the bed.

"Who should we get, George?" Fred asked thoughtfully. "Ickle Ronnikins is out, and sweet bookworm Hermione is still somehow torn, though Harry is clearly the better choice. I'm thinking definitely Neville and Luna, and we'll have to take Blaise-y boy here now. Their accomplice Pansy-flower should come, and I've heard good things about Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott. Bulstrode, Crabbe, and Goyle are no's. Maybe we can pick up our Quidditch chaser besties Katie, Angelina, and Alicia, with our other pranking bestie Lee Jordan! There's ten, even if four are technically outside of school, so we should be good!"

George smirked at him, then asked mischievously, "should we wake them up, or just dump a time activated portkey set for 5:03 on them?" Fred tilted his head, then held up two fingers. George nodded his acknowledgment and carefully wrapped a fool's golds chain around the boys and connected the ends. He slipped away quietly and smirked at his brother, then whispered, "let's go get Neville, Luna, Parkinson, Greengrass, and Nott so we can grab the others next."

Fred cackled quietly in response. "You take the boys, I'll take the girls except Luna." They split up and put the chain on everyone on their list by 4:30, and slipped out the eighth year dorms to find Luna up in the Ravenclaw dorms.

When they got there, she was already up and dressed. "Wonderful! You're right on time, just like the Bubbling Cordances promised!" As one, they grinned and moved to stand on either side of her, escorting her through the dorms, common room, then into the secret passageway outside of the castle.

"Luna my dear..." Fred began,

"...you are..."

"...as always..."

"... absolutely, positively, 100% correct."

She smiled at them radiantly and said, "let's fetch the others and smother our lovely Harrikins so he learns keeping secrets only attracts Nargles and Wrackspurts. His head was full of them and he was absolutely surrounded by them in his nest, but Draco is very good at clearing them out. With a few more Cuddlebugs and the Champions help, he'll finally be free." She patted their arms and smirked slightly at their dumbfounded look, then twirled and finished, "Come on, let's fly away!"

Fred and George, with Luna between them, twirled and apparated into the flat they shared above their shop, where they dropped Luna off and went to plant portkeys in Lee Jordan's apartment, then in Angelina, Katie, and Alicia's apartment, which they shared after graduation. George grabbed a pillow and gigantic, rainbow camouflage fuzzy blanket from the top of the cupboard, and Fred made a cup of hot chocolate and dumped some white powder in, then put it under a stasis charm. The twins and Luna made plans until 4:52, when people started appearing. The first to come was the three girls, who landed in a heap on the floor, clearly still asleep when they landed. "Fred! George! I'm going to kill you!" Angelina shrieked, and Alicia and Katie nodded, looking poisonously at the pair. George chuckled nervously, and he and Fred grabbed the girls and dragged them over just in time for Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Neville Longbottom, and Theodore Nott to land on the floor. Fred and George still looking warily at the three graduated chasers, grabbed the new arrivals and pulled them to the side.

Lee Jordan arrived next, but unlike the others, he twisted and landed on his feet, then gave Fred a high-five. "Stuck the landing, man! But seriously, you gotta stop randomly portkeying people places, some of them don't have my sense of humor or reflexes." Fred just shrugged and waved at Luna.

She spoke quickly, "Fred and George actually got permission to kidnap you from school to help Harry Potter with his newly revealed Wrackspurts from his Nargles. We have to share our Cuddlebugs to drive them away, then trap them in mistletoe."

Neville nodded understandingly, but he was the only one other than the twins and surprisingly Pansy Parkinson that didn't look bewildered. He glanced at them, then translated, "Luna said we need to help Harry get over his abuse at the hands of his relatives by showing him that we still love him and care about him, or in some of your cases, that you want to be his friend anyway, despite what he's been through. Harry has serious self esteem issues that he's very good at hiding, but sometimes even he needs support."

"Here's the letter he sent us," Fred said sadly, handing it over.

Katie read it out loud quickly, skipping the parts in the beginning about the twins business.

"So, I might have 'forgot' to mention something when you asked if I was okay in your last letter. I told you how Draco Malfoy and I have become friends, well, he also...figured out I was abused. Apparently he works with Professor Snape with abused kids in Slytherin, and he recognized most of the signs in my behavior. He got me to tell him about my relatives, and told me that it was abuse, and that I should tell you and others that I was sure were my friends about it to build a support network. So, here it goes: I...have scars all over my back, and a couple on my front from when Uncle Vernon used to hit me with his belt, and I have some burn scars on my arms from Aunt Petunia burning me when I was little and messed up my chores, especially cooking. My eyesight is a lot worse from when she hit me with a frying pan, and some of my arm, leg, and rib bones have broken and healed wrong. My bones are brittle from malnutrition, and I'll never get particularly tall or gain much weight. My internal organs are mostly fine, since my magic protected me, but I throw up when I eat heavy, sugary, or greasy foods, which you already know. Hogwarts and you guys probably saved my life, when you sent me food and potions at my relatives house. Thank you, and love you guys! Please don't freak out, I...just...I'm fine, honestly. Draco, Blaise, and Pansy have been a huge help, even though Ron and Hermione are a bit upset that I'm friends with Slytherins. Can I see you sometime? And honestly, I'M FINE."

Katie looked up, tears in her eyes. "He always was so small, even compared to me, and I was the shortest on our Quidditch team. He never changed in front of any of us, even the guys, and I sometimes saw that he was nervous, but I thought it was just because he was nervous." Angelina and Alicia nodded numbly. At that moment, Blaise, Draco, and Harry appeared, still tangled together and sleeping. They landed on the cushioning spell George had cast on the floor and kept sleeping, mostly thanks to the sleeping and silencing spells the twins had cast back at Hogwarts.

"Alright, quick intro for everybody, then we'll wake Harrikins and his snuggle buddies up and start the adventure Luna, Gred, and Forge have planned for you!" Fred said in a fake announcer voice. "On your left you have the beautiful chaser trio, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, respectively nicknamed Ange, Kat, and occasionally Alice!" He gestured to the three girls who rolled their eyes, but waved anyway.

"Next to us, we have our partner in crime Lee Jordan!" George took over, and Lee flicked his dreadlocks over his shoulder and struck a pose, smirking as he played along with the twins, clearly used to their antics at this point.

Fred continued, "and we have three Slytherins here for you today, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, and finally, the beautiful Pansy Parkinson, newly dubbed Daph, Theo, and Pansy-flower or Pans." The three Slytherins looked dubiously at the twin pranksters, clearly doubting the honor of gaining a nickname from the twins, but smiled anyway. Fred produced two bouquets of daffodils and pansies and handed them to Daphne and Pansy, whose smiles got far more sincere.

George waved his hands and geared up for the finale, "and here, is the illustrious Herbology-ist expert, Neville Longbottom, lovingly called Nev, and the one, and only, Luna Lovegood, our resident truth and future telling seer!" George bowed in tandem with Fred, and Neville waved a little nervously and Luna beamed at all of them.

"And on the floor is our very own Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter! Alternatives include Blaze, Dray, Drake, or Drac, and our little Harrikins, Hare-bear, the all-purpose Har, and Harrison if you want to sound serious." As Fred finished, George waved his wand and dispelled the enchantments covering the boys and sent a jet of air to wake them.

"Fred, George, if you take away the cushioning spell before I finish waking up and am wrapped up in my blanket with hot chocolate spiked with caffeine, you will regret it." Harry groaned from the floor.

"It's right here, Hare-bear," Fred crooned, waving the giant rainbow blanket he grabbed from the couch, "and your pillow. George has your hot chocolate too."

The twin in question laughed, and scooped Harry up from the floor and wrapped him up in the blanket he got from Fred, then plopped him on the couch with the pillow. Harry wriggled one arm out of the blanket cocoon, accepted the hot chocolate from Fred, and sipped it carefully, then finally smiled. "As if we'd forget, Har, when have we ever?" George sounded almost offended.

"Never," Harry smiled, "and that's why you two are my favorite!" The twins each sat down on either side of him and he snuggled further into them and his pillow. The others in the room looked on in wonder as the prankster twins, lanky and ridiculously tall, snuggled with the much smaller teenager.

"How on earth did they know what to do?" Blaise grumbled, sitting up from the floor, groaning.

Alicia and Katie looked at each other, then burst out, "how did you train them so well? They're never this helpful to us, they let us land on the floor in a pile!" Harry smirked from his blanket cocoon and didn't answer, focusing on his hot chocolate.

Lee grinned from where she was leaning against the wall. "I know," he said, looking entirely too pleased, "Harry stayed here for most of the summer before heading to the Burrow with the rest of the Weasley clan. He absolutely refused to get up unless the twins wrapped him up in that blanket, put him on the couch, and gave him caffeinated hot chocolate. If they didn't, he pranked them mercilessly, and sulked for the entire day and wouldn't talk to them until they figured out how to apologize and make it up to them. They learned quickly." Lee finished, cackling, and Harry nodded proudly. The twins shrugged and went back to fussing over Harry, adjusting his blanket and pillow and swapping his empty cup for a full one.

Daphne looked at Harry in wonder. "You're absolutely a Slytherin!" she cried, pleased, "you manipulated them into getting what you wanted and kept them trained, even while at school!"

Harry shrugged again, "The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but Draco, Ron, and Hagrid all gave me a bad impression. And the twins don't act like this around the rest of their family, just when we're alone or with people we trust."

Nodding, Fred added a bit sadly, "Really, just around Bill, Charlie, Percy, Lee, Nico, our dad, and now you lot. Besides, Harry is one of four people to consistently tell us apart, only him, our dad, Lee, and now Nico. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the rest of our friends try, but they're not right all that often." Harry smiled at them and knocked his head against Fred's arm comfortingly. "Now!" Fred exclaimed, his tone shifting to excited again and he bounced slightly, "y'all get to come on an adventure! Harry, you send a patronus message to Nico—or Professor di Angelo, to you—on who's here, George can fill in the crowd on what we have planned for the weekend!"

As Harry cast a patronus and started whispering to it, George bounced up from the couch and twirled his wand, producing a whiteboard and marker from the air. "This handy contraption, for those from the wizarding world, is a whiteboard and Expo marker. You can write on the board and erase it as will. They're wonderful inventions Harry introduced us to over the summer, we use them for brainstorming all the time." As the pure bloods made interested coos over the board, he continued, "Anyway, the plan is this: this will be executed entirely in the Muggle world, so transfigure your clothes into muggle clothing, Harry has diagrams. First stop, we go to I-Hop, a restaurant that serves pancakes and various delicious breakfast foods. Once we're done there, we go to an amusement park, which he roller coasters and all sorts of games and unhealthy, delicious food. For lunch, we go to Wendy's, then to a movie, The Hobbit. After, we eat at a Chinese all-you-can-eat place. Then we go home, drink a lot of coffee and caffeinated hot chocolate while we binge watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Harry has promised to make breakfast, which is amazing and wonderful of him and something nobody should ever miss. We will then go shopping, where it was proposed that everyone, but especially Harry, gets a makeover, which I hear Daph, Pansy-flower, and Drac specialize in, then Harry has promised to make lunch. Afternoon is a hike to an awesome waterfall, where we can play in the water Andean the boulders, followed by dinner, which is some Taco Bell and some takeout from a genuine Mexican place and we will conduct a taste test. We will watch the rest of the LotR, then return you to the clutches of Hogwarts and your apartments respectively. Also, we will be gifting you all with iPhones guaranteed to work around magic with Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ subscriptions and a movie list to watch in your free time, Harry will also get a projector to play movies in a bigger screen for you at Hogwarts." George took a deep breath and a bow, abs Harry, Fred, and Lee clapped vigorously. "Thank you, thank you," George said, and waved his wand, cleaning the white board and vanishing it.

As the twins got Harry up, who summoned some diagrams for the muggle-ignorant group to copy for clothing, Theo whispered to Draco, "I'm so confused by most of what he said."

—Line Break—

Nico smiled as he heard a knock on his office door. "Back?" He asked the grinning twins outside his door.

"Yep!" George cheered, "it was great! And we come bearing gifts and many questions!" He plopped two packages down on Nico's table, one a small white box, and one a larger, lumpier brown bag. He opened the bag first, pulling out sandwiches, thermoses full of soup and hot chocolate, and packages of rolls, scones, and various desserts. "From Harry, he cooked this weekend and wanted to share to thank you. He even taught us to make things!"

Fred took over, opening the small white box. "A fully functioning iPhone, with subscriptions to various movie channels, loaded with games, various music services, reading apps, even yoga, meditation, and exercise/weapon training apps, all organized for you. Also proven to work around magic, preloaded with our numbers and the ten others with us this weekend, even had our own version of Siri, who we call Ember. It's completely free, even the service provider, which can flip to whatever provider is strongest in your area, and no subscription fees for anything. Never dies, either, which is extremely handy." Nico gaped at them, then slowly accepted the phone.

"Now, before you say anything to distract us, we want answers. You were bleeding, smelled of medicine, and we could see bandages on you. We can see them now, actually, so spill!" George commanded.

"If I tell you, you've got to swear never to tell anyone. I actually need help, so it's not all bad, I guess. And if I pay you, can I get four more of those phones?" Nico said reluctantly.

George looked at Fred, and they both nodded and held out their wands. "We, Frederick Gideon and George Fabian Weasley, swear on our magic and life to never reveal in any form, the information we are told or figure out tonight without express permission from Nico di Angelo." Then Fred smiled widely and said, "and the current price is 75 galleons per phone, including all the preloaded apps and subscriptions, but we'll give you a friend discount and you can pay 60 galleons per phone. They'll be here the day after you pay."

Nico smiled, took a deep breath, then blurted out, "I'm a Greek demigod."

**I have a chapter that covers the weekend, but decided not to put it in, because it doesn't do much for the plot and I needed to move along. If anyone would like to see it, I might post it as a one shot later. Basically, they follow the plan, most of the Wizards struggle with the muggle world, and there's some interesting disasters. Neville/Luna, the chaser trio/Lee, and all the Slytherins are now at least friendly acquaintances, Harry is friends with all of them, and Fred and George are the best. **

**Also, if anyone wants to see a certain scene from a different perspective, or a part of the timeline I skipped, review or PM me, I like challenges. **


	12. Chapter 12 - Revelations, Plans, Texting

**Thank you to pjandhoofan and DarkShadow124 on wattpad and a guest reviewer on for the encouraging comments and reminders to update! I'm so sorry, I just graduated high school, the last month was crazy, and now I'm frantically applying for jobs, but it's settling down now, and I'll try to update more regularly. **

The twins blinked, looked at each other, then back at Nico. He took another deep breath, this time in relief, and continued more slowly, "my father is Hades, lord of the Underworld. I have been adopted by Hestia, and am her champion, along with Artemis, Hecate, Lupa, Khione, Hypnos, and Morpheus. I've been blessed by Apollo, Hera, Hephaestus, Ares, and Aphrodite. They're respectively the gods and goddesses of the hearth and home, the hunt and maidenhood, magic, Rome, snow and ice, sleep, and dreams, then the sun and music, marriage and family, craftsmanship specifically metals, war, and love and beauty." He shucked his shirt and showed his left arm with the symbols and his SPQR tattoo. He pointed to each symbol as he named the god or goddess it represented. He explained the SPQR brand, then his right arm's swirling picture, and his wing tattoo on his back. He even went into some detail about what extra powers he got from each blessing.

"Now, little buddy, not that this isn't amazing, but you've yet to explain the scars and bandages I can see," Fred said sternly.

Nico sighed and said, "life as a demigod is hard. The gods are real, but all the monsters are too. You're chased by them starting really badly at maybe 12, earlier if you're more powerful, based on your parent." He explained his backstory, the Lotus Casino, meeting Percy, losing Bianca, Midas and the Labyrinth, the Titan War, then finding the Romans, losing Percy, gaining Jason, their quests, his trip to Tartarus, the Giant War, his struggle with his feelings, Will and their happiness then the massive betrayal, then gaining his patrons. "So I'm down to Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, the hunters, and Meg from my old life. And now I'm being tortured on my dreams by T-T-Tartarus. Artemis and Lupa warned me about his coming, and he even confirmed it."

He sat slumped at the table, looking at his hands, where he'd released one of his knives and was fiddling with it. "Hey, Neeks," George said gently, "we got you. You have your friends from your old life, and now you have us, and Madame Pomfrey, and Harry and his friends, who are nothing to be scoffed at. We'll get through this. And if you ever need help after one of these dreams, or for any other reason, Fred and I are on speed dial. We will come and help you, we can be here in five minutes." Nico looked up thankfully, returning the knife to ring form and hugging George tightly, with Fred sandwiching him from behind.

Suddenly, Fred spoke up, "so Neeks, you're not actually 18! You're only 15, so you're four years younger than us, and two or three younger than Harrikins and his amigos! That's so cool," his voice dropped suddenly, the excitement leaking out, "except you've been through at least twice what any of us have."

Nico laughed wetly, "yeah, I guess I have." He looked nervously between the twin, "you don't mind that I didn't tell you, right? Only Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey know at Hogwarts. And they had to know, as the Headmistress and Mediwitch, and honestly, I wouldn't have told them if I didn't." He looked between the twins and they smiled reassuringly at him, and he relaxed the rest of the way. "You know, I don't get a lot of hugs. I should change that, make it more common." He reluctantly stepped out of their hold and looked thoughtfully at his arms.

"We can help with that!" George announced jubilantly.

"We are the masters..."

"...of giving and receiving hugs..."

"...thanks to our wonderful mother..."

"...who is absolutely hug obsessed!"

George high fived Fred, who turned around and hugged Nico once again. He snuggled into his hold, mentally reaffirming his resolution to get more hugs. "_Maybe I can start with who or whatever Artemis is sending to help me here_," he thought, smiling to himself. "All right, guys, I think we should," he paused suddenly, hearing a faint rustle of movement from his bedroom. "Wait, did you here that?" He asked the twins. Not waiting for a response, Nico walked silently towards his room, Fred and George following close behind. He moved the door open just a crack and peered through. He saw a tiny white wolf cub rolling on his bed. "Artemis!" He cried, seeing the cub. "This must be what she sent! I don't feel any danger, come on." He enters the room and scanned it, just in case, and saw a folded piece of paper on his bedside table. He scooped it up first, steadfastly ignoring the pitiful whimpers the cub gave at seeing him and not being picked up. He read it out loud.

_"__Our Champion, this is a pup that was too small for our hunt, but he will grow to a loyal companion and help you more than you might expect. Her name is Leila. Artemis_

Nico smiled and scooped the pup up. "Hello Leila, oh, you're so _adorible_, little pup," he cooed. "What should we do first? Such a _dolce_ little pup deserves a pretty collar, to make sure people know you belong with someone, and don't hurt you, or so you don't have to hurt them," he laughed, scratching under her chin. Fred and George descended on them, enamored with the tiny wolf pup.

"Hey Nico," one of them days curiously, "what did those words mean, had-adorible and dulce?"

Nico blushed violently, but answered, "it was Italian, and adorible means adorable and dolce means sweet. I," He hesitates, eyes flickering between them. "_They've already proven they're trustworthy,_" He thought cautiously, and finished, "I know Italian because I'm originally Italian, and my...my sister taught me, in the Lotus Casino? And I sometimes use it when I'm excited, or comforting some one, or...well, whenever I'm feeling strong positive emotions." He confessed. Fred smiled at him, and George gave him another hug. "Now, I have classes in the morning, and you have a shop to run and inventions to make, so shoo, you two." Nico smiled and waved them out the door. The twins went, protesting that irresponsibility is the best way to live, but Nico didn't listen and he was finally left alone in his quarters, thankful that someone he trusted knew about the problem, and secure in the knowledge he'd be receiving more help soon.

The next day, Nico got up and fed Leila, then looked at his bedside table. He saw the four phones he'd paid for last night with his Lotus Casino card. "_Apollo, I don't know if you're listening,_" he prayed silently, "_can you send these to Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Meg? I know your not the god of travelers or communication, but you are the god of the sun, so you see everything. Will you please send these phones, so I can communicate with my friends and prepare for attack?_" A warm golden glow ran through him, and the phones disappeared in a flash of light. "Thank you!" He prayed again, "I'll sacrifice some really good chocolate chip pancakes in your honor at breakfast!" He promised. He promptly started a group chat with his demigod friends sent a text through the phones.

Nico: Hey guys, it's Nico. I got these from a friend. They have tons of great features, and should be monster-proof. I'm going to need some backup in a couple months, there's going to be a massive monster attack on Hogwarts, a school a magical world sponsored by Hecate, led by Tartarus. I'll send more details as I have them. Any questions?

Percy: Hey Neeks! Glad you're making friends, just call if you need us! Wet can be there soon, we're almost to break.

Meg: Can I come stay with you? Camp is stupid and once Lester became Apollo again, he had to leave for Olympus, something about recharging his godly energy and Zeus' orders.

Nico: Sure, you can help teach sword and knife fighting.

Meg: ? ﾟﾗﾡ?

Annabeth: You do have permission, right? And safety prep?

Nico: I'll put a spell on the blades so they can only bruise. It's fine. And Headmistress McGonagall will say yes. Probably. I'll just call you a guest speaker, Meg. And Percy/Annabeth, you can come too, once your on break. I'll even try to get transfer credits for you if you stay a semester."

Annabeth: I'll talk to the Dean, see what she says. But I bet it'll work.

Percy: Yes! Teaching tiny wizardlings to fight! I'll help with swords, Annabeth can do knives, Meg can do both, Nico? Can you do bow?

Meg: ? ﾟﾘﾍ? ﾟﾘﾍ? ﾟﾘﾍ? ﾟﾘﾍ? ﾟﾘﾍ?

Nico: Sure, sounds good. I'm going to mix in some self defense and fitness training into my current defense lessons, to prep. I'll start with swords/knives when Meg gets here.

Annabeth: Sounds good! See you in a few weeks, Nico!

Meg: I'll be there in two days. I have my ways. And I'll bring Peaches.

Nico: Thanks, everyone! Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland, I can't help you much more than that.

Annabeth: We have an in with Iris and Fleecy, they'll help us with the location. We might have to promise to consider Buddhism and meditation, but we'll text you the exact location, Meg. Hold on three minutes.

Percy: Location is center of Olde Forest, Northern Scotland, United Kingdoms. Go to Kings Cross station in central London, walk through the wall between platforms 9 and 10 to get to Platform 9 3/4, then follow the train line. If you pay the conductor 3 golden drachmas, he'll take you to Hogsmeade Station, then follow the path to the castle.

Annabeth: And Iris hasn't decided between Buddhism and Taoism, but she wants everyone to try meditation with the goal of disengagement to balance their chi, and for us to start a club focusing on Taoism for all students. She's sending us with books and materials to help.

Meg: Thanks! I'm coming.

Nico smiled at his phone screen, then went to start his classes. "Time to start on running and warm ups, to get them into shape. This is going to be fun!"

His classes went well, even though most of the students had terrible fitness, except, surprisingly, a lot of pure bloods, especially ones with foreign roots. "We just don't need to move that much, unless you're a high level dueler!" complained one Ravenclaw girl.

"Actually," a Hufflepuff pure blood from Japan spoke up, "physical fitness helps grow and stabilize your magical core, and give you better magical endurance." After that, word seemed to spread among the Ravenclaws, who suddenly were very interested in his lesson. Most of the Slytherin house already seemed to do either yoga or running, as all new members were taught pureblood culture. Gryffindor was the biggest problem, but once Nico made it a challenge and competition, they were in, and Hufflepuff was too obliging to be much of a problem.

Nico also sent a message to Fred and George about his friends and their plans. Then they moved on to weapons prep and training.

Nico: Hey guys, I'm going to train most of the students at Hogwarts to defend themselves. Do you want training too?

Forge: Sure do, little buddy!

Gred: Can't have the ickle Hoggywarts students in their own! We can set up a video tutoring course for adult wizards so we can train reinforcements. Can you make those videos?

Nico: Great idea, thanks guys! I'll have the first video to you in two days, before Meg gets here.

Forge: I bet Bill and Charlie would love this!

Nico: And Percy... there's more to him than meets the eye. Ask him to help you guys, he could really help you in the store, and he's actually really brave. He just didn't quite fit in.

Gred: Thanks, we'll ask. And remember, we're here for you!


	13. Chapter 13 - Reunions

**Thank you to (wattpad) liliana_perez_, _Night_black_wolf, KrakenHart838, nightskyjy25, (fanfiction) LunaLovegood48, and weirdhead for your encouraging comments, and I loved reading your reactions to the story!** ❤️❤️❤️ ****Sorry about the brief mixup when this was written in code, I think it's fixed now!****

"Hey Gred?" Fred called to his twin. George quickly turned around, hearing the undertones of worry and confusion in his twin's voice.  
"Yeah, Forge?" He responded gently. He felt for their twin link, searching for his brother's emotions. They had always been able to feel each other, even as children, and over time they practiced with it and grew the link so they could send quick pictures with impressions through it, in addition to partially closing it off if one of them was too overwhelmed and didn't want to shut down the other completely. He felt the wave of Fred's emotions crashing though him, and realized his twin must've been blocking him for a while, if it had built up this badly without him noticing.  
"You remember what Neeks told us a couple days ago? Not the Greek stuff, but the bits about Percy, well, our Percy." George sent a pulse of reassurance down the bond, attempting to comfort and reassure his brother, to soothe away some of his stress. "I want to contact him," Fred continued, "he is really good at numbers and books and things, not that we can't do some, and we have Lee, but I think he could still help...and..." George felt another wave of conflict wash down the fully-open bond, and he quickly pulled his twin into a hug.  
"Oh, Freddie," he crooned, feeling Fred's want for his family, especially his older brothers, and Percy especially. Fred sent him a hazy picture-memory of Percy cuddling them in his lap, telling them a story, feeling safe and loved and understood and full of fun and mischief, and his hurt over the sudden stop to those stories. How he wasn't sure if that was even a memory or not, or just his desperate desire for someone in their family to have understood their love of pranks and fun. It sparked a similar memory in George, but he refrained from sending it. He wasn't sure if the thought that those early stories were a dream or the thought that Percy had stopped the stories hurt worse.  
The bell rang suddenly in the entrance of the shop. George looked up, confused, because the store was closed at the moment, and only someone keyed into the wards would be able to get through the at the moment. "_Who would it be?_" George thought, confused. "_Only Bill, Charlie, Dad, Harry, Lee, and Nico are keyed in, and they're all at work or at Hogwarts. Unless...no, there's no way it's Percy, rather ight? We only keyed him in as a bit of a desperate hope, and him turning up just as we were talking about him is so improbable." _But he saw Percy walking through the door off the shop, looking uncertain and maybe a bit hopeful.  
"Fred? George? Are either of you here? I know the store was closed, but Nico made me come and told me I could get in..." Percy called, looking around uncertainly. Fred and George froze, watching him through the one way viewing doors. They all stood there, two conflicted and hurt, one uncertain and hopeful, for a while. Eventually Percy slumped. "I knew this was a bad idea. I never should've listened to Nico, no matter how convincing he was." He started pacing, gripping his hair. "What should I do?" He half wailed quietly to himself. "Do I come back some other day? Keep waiting? Try to find them in the back or their flat?" He slumped to the ground, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, back against one of the walls, staring at the counter and the fires to the back. "I can hide undercover in a corrupt then Death Eater run Ministry, I can pretend to hate my family, I can fight people through the halls, I can even try to make up with Mum, even though Dad won't even look at me... but I can't meet with the two little brothers I missed the damn most. I can't do this." He slowly stood up and walked to the door, supers slumped and head hanging.  
George felt Fred growing tenser in his arms as they listened to and watched their brother, and felt Fred's trembling conflict. Finally, when Percy was almost to the fire, he whispered, "Percy, wait..." there should've been no way that Percy could hear him, but he paused, his hand hovering over the door handle. "Percy, wait!" Fred said again, much louder, and broke away from George, then burst through the doors separating the two rooms. He paused with one hand still on the doors, the other hand clenching and unclenching, half-reaching for Percy. George moved up behind his brother, still hiding behind the doors, but let his hand rest lightly on Fred's back.  
"Fred?" Percy whispered, and flipped around, staring at his brother. His face was a mix of hope, caution, fear, and something George couldn't quite identify, but thought might be love.  
Fred took a deep breath and straightened his back and shoulders. "What... what did you mean, what you said about Nico, and the Ministry, and... about us?" his shoulders twitched inwards, and he continued, "and how did you know I was Fred? It was just a guess, right?" he tried to sound confident, but his voice cracked at the end.  
Percy looked taken aback, then blushed scarlet. "You were listening to all that?" Suddenly he looked really confused. "And what do you mean, I just guessed? Of course I can tell you apart, you're my brothers!"  
"Mum can't... and neither can Dad, or Ron, or Ginny." Fred whispered.  
"I can, I've always been able to!" Percy said emphatically, half reaching out his hands towards Fred. "You and George are so alike, but you're different people! You are more introverted, kinder, more gentle, can understand others emotions better, like sweet foods, enjoy Potions and Charms the most. George can shield himself against anger and pain better, which is one of the reasons he stands a bit in front of you whenever you're scolded, especially by Mum. He likes salty foods, and enjoys cooking even though he's awful at it, and you hate cooking even though you're amazing at it. He likes Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Runes, and his voice is a bit lower than yours. Your voice has a bit of a up-down lilt at the end of a question or a sentence when you're uncertain. His favorite magical animal is a niffler, and yours is a pygmy puff, especially the most energetic ones. Your favorite nonmagical animal is a golden retriever, and George's is a wolf. But you're not completely different, either. You both enjoy mischief, especially pranks, and love magical creatures, and are so protective of those you truly love. You both worshipped Loki, Norse god of mischief, ever since you were two and I would tell you stories about him to put you to sleep. And I gave you a dog plushie and George a wolf plushie for your second birthday, and I'd saved up doing extra chores for months to get them. And on your fourth birthday, I got George a stuffed niffler, and you a stuffed pygmy puff because it took me another two years to get enough money to buy them. And I kept giving you presents every two years, until I could do it every year, because you're my little brothers. And...I love you, so, _so_, much, and I'm incredibly sorry I've been awful at showing that for a while, we'll, for a long time.." As he talked, he moved closer incredibly slowly, until he could almost reach out and touch Fred's clenching hand, his voice growing quieter and more gentle as he continued. His hand extended a bit, trembling, and his face was so full of regret and that same emotion George thought might be love that George couldn't breathe or move for fear of making this dream go away.  
Fred suddenly grabbed that hand. "I... we...thought that only Bill, Charlie, Lee Jordan, Harry, and Nico could tell us apart," he whispered, "and it hurt, that our family, the most you, then Mum and Dad, didn't seem to care enough to try." His voice was wavering so badly that George made up his mind, pushing up to wrap one arm around Fred's shoulders as he talked. Fred continued, relaxing into George a bit, "and you hurt the most, because I thought I remembered you playing with us, and reading us stories and telling us apart, but it all stopped one day. After that, you practically ignored us, and just looked sad or depressed or so neutral, and none of our jokes and pranks worked to make you happy anymore. And your and your stories were the one person in our family that let me...us...feel really, truly ok, and safe, and accepted, and loved in our house... nobody else really understood our mischief and jokes...and when that was gone, oh, P-Percy, that hurt so bad..." and suddenly, Percy was squeezing them both in a hug so tight all George could feel was Percy and Fred next to him, and it felt like all his tension and bottled up hurt was squeezed out of him and trickled to the floor, all the pain he didn't even realize was there because he was so used to it. It felt so, so perfect, and George never wanted it to end. He felt safe and loved, like a thousands pounds he didn't know were there had been lifted off his shoulders.  
"I'm sorry..." George tears on his cheek, and realized he was crying, and Percy was crying, and feeling through the twin bond, he knew that Fred was crying too. "I'm sorry," Percy whispered again, "it's not your fault, I'm sorry I had to stop, I'm sorry I took away your safe space, I'm _sorry_."  
George spoke for the first time. "Why?" he said brokenly, not letting go, afraid that if he did, everything would come back and he'd be carrying that weight again.  
"Mum told me to," Percy said quietly back, "she thought the stories I told you were making you mischievous, she didn't understand that you were born that way, and that all I was doing was trying my best to make you feel understood. She basically grounded me from story time, she said until you two stopped playing so many pranks. I started reading more, so I'd have better, newer stories to tell you when she finally let me do it again. But... you didn't change, just like I knew you never would, and Mum never really understood, and by the time she finally relented, I was eleven and leaving to Hogwarts, and you'd apparently forgotten, and all anyone had seen me as for years was a bookworm. So that's what I stayed, I studied at Hogwarts and tried to talk to you over the summer a couple times...but all I could see and hear were mum's angry face and voice when I tried, so I stopped. And at Hogwarts I could see how much Mum's howlers hurt you, which hurt even more, but I was still so nervous to talk to you...and I'm sorry I'm such a coward. But..." he trailed off, blushing bright red. "I still have every list of stories I made, ever since I started at seven, all through Hogwarts, even up to now. I worked at the Ministry partially because I'd made it through all the Hogwarts library, and had asked all the Ravenclaws, even some Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, and occasionally a couple Gryffindor for all the stories they knew, and I wanted to," He blushed even deeper, "I wanted to check the Ministry archives for more information and stories, true or invented."  
Fred and George pulled back slightly from the hug in unison, looked at each other, then surged forward again, squeezing Percy between them tightly. "Thanks, Percy," Fred whispered softly. "I'd love to see them sometime." George nodded emphatically across from him. "And...c-c-could you m-m-maybe tell us some?"  
Percy's smile became so bright he could've beat Gilderoy Lockhart at his best for the Witches Weekly's Best Smile Contest. "I'd love that!" he said enthusiastically. "You two were always my favorite, Ron and Ginny were a bit spoiled, being the youngest, and then became Quidditch and Harry Potter obsessed, and I just didn't understand them. And I wanted somebody to protect..." He trailed off, blushing again, "like Bill and Charlie did for me..."  
As he was talking, George started pulling all three through the back doors, up the stairs to their flat, and to the couch. Once they all sat down and Percy was done, he started the interrogation. Putting himself on the right and Fred on the left, still with his arms and each other, he asked the question that had been bothering him. "What did you mean, when you first entered the shop, about pretending to hate your family and fighting Death Eaters?"  
Percy looked suddenly extremely nervous and uncomfortable. "Well, when I started at the Ministry, I was Mr. Crouch's assistant, with the intent to transfer to the Records and Archives Department within the year. But while I was helping go over and organize old records, I found a ton of discrepancies between records, many missing or badly classified records, and mistakes in filing and within the records, dating from well before the first war with Voldemort, but increasing exponentially through the war. I stupidly took my lists to Mr. Crouch first, since I was his assistant, and he threatened me. He was deeply involved with a lot of that, especially the wartime parts. He threatened my job, and when that didn't work, Dad's job, and any future plans you two might make, and eventually Ron and Ginny. He bragged to me about all the contacts he still had within the Ministry, and said even Dumbledore was involved with a lot of it. So I had no one to go to, so I agreed, and he made me do whatever he said. He made me take vows, luckily not in real able ones, but still binding ones, that I wouldn't tell anyone outside of the Ministry or anyone who could do something about the corruption, and kept holding you all over me to keep me compliant. He made me pretend to hate you all, to distance me further from any support or someone to notice something was wrong. He made me move into a different flat, to further disorient me, and forced me to be the perfect, devoted assistant. I could do almost nothing without his permission, and so I kept working, and started pretending that I agreed with him, and understood his point of view. He started to tell me more, he liked having someone to brag to about all his past accomplishments, and I wrote it all down, and found more records and evidence of corruption, and compiled an enormous folder of proof. Before Voldemort's return, almost everyone was corrupt, taking bribes, exchanging favors, everyone but the unimportant, lower level clerks and Madame Bones, and a few aurors. But even once Mr. Crouch was gone I couldn't back out and return to my family, I was in too deep, he'd passed the vows to an associate, and I had to stay and keep pretending so that I could gather more information and support. So I gathered support, my vows allowed me to tell those unimportant clerks at the lower levels all I'd found, so I did, and we gathered support. I eventually got every employee who was not corrupt or strongly affiliated with Dumbledore or Voldemort on my side, which included several from every department, even the aurors, and started working from the inside. We called ourselves The White Circle, because our symbol was a purple M inside a white circle, to represent the cleansing and reforms we wanted, but the fact that we still supported the Ministry. Then Voldemort returned, and he killed important person who didn't support him, which removed most of the corruption, and installed Death Eaters and his supporters. Me and the entire White Circle decided to stay, and we ran internal disturbances, helping Muggleborns fudge records, deleting travel records to prevent Death Eaters from catching those who fled, leaking information to known resistance members without letting them know we were a resistance too, anything we could. It was hard, the Death Eaters knew I was a Weasley, but I had been distancing myself so publicly for a while, so they were unsure. I pretended to be mostly neutral, a bit anti-Dumbledore, so they didn't really torture me, and I made sure my group stayed neutral and clearly proclaimed that fact. Everyone who joined knew that if you wanted to publicly fight Voldemort, then you joined Dumbledores little club, if you supported Voldemort you joined him, but we were a third option. We had a lot of Slytherins and Ravenclaws join us, and a ton of Hufflepuffs, almost no Gryffindors, though. I researched expansion charms extensively and made every one of my people a small apartment under their desks, with a tiny kitchenette, a bedroom, a area to store stuff in, be it books or heirlooms, and a safe room, where even if someone unauthorized entered, only a team of four expert ward masters would be able to enter. They looked like slightly expanded rooms under the desks with shrunken mattresses, for anyone who looked closely, they were layered with so many wards and notice-me-nots. It wasn't safe to have homes to raid, not with the risk of discovering our plans, luckily, we were all so low on the chain, nobody cared about us. The only actual location we had was my tiny apartment from Mr. Crouch, which I made look sparse and unloved in, then hid a training room under expansion charms in a warded closet. I trained my people, made sure all of them were close to expert duelists, and when Voldemort fell, we cleaned out the Ministry. When he died, all the Death Eaters screamed, their marks disappearing, so we attacked and killed most of them, arresting only a few. Our aurors made sure they got actual trials and were properly sentenced. When everyone voted Kingsley Shacklebolt as the Minister, he was so busy trying to take care of the Death Eaters who were outside the Ministry and had gotten away, he didn't care how the Departments were organized and had leaders, he just cared that they were." Percy suddenly smirked. "Did you read those Sherlock Holmes books you found on your pillows your birthday second year?"  
Fred and George nodded, confused, then suddenly George realized. "Oh Merlin, Percy, you're like Mycroft Holmes! That's so cool!"  
Fred started wriggling in his seat from excitement. "I loved that book! That was you that gave them to us? Thanks, Percy! And I can't believe it, our brother is Mycroft Holmes and nobody knows!"  
"Please, Perce..."  
"...will you introduce us..."  
"...to your minions? Do you..."  
"...have a Anthea minion..."  
"...tons of surveillance..."  
"...and instant communication methods? We have..."  
"...those phones..."  
"...but those are new!" The twins were almost speechless with questions. "Do Bill and Charlie know?" they chorus.  
"Yes, I'm like Mycroft Holmes, yes, I gave you those books for your birthday, I gave you anonymous presents every two years because I couldn't earn enough money to buy them every year until I had graduated and I wanted to be able to give you something without Mum looking disapproving, yes, I will introduce you to my minions, yes, I have Anthea-type minion, but there's two of them, they're twins named Diana and Apollo, I have surveillance, it's mass monitoring spells connected to small notebooks, I can listen to any message in or about the Ministry, see any message, and view any file, in addition to two way message books for all my White Circle. And you've modified phones to work with magic? That's amazing! And yes, Bill and Charlie know some, I've reconnected with them and they know I was coerced through my Ministry career, though not anymore, and I have some influence on important people who are maybe above me. I was...scared to drive them away, since they were the only ones who were even a bit supportive after the war ended."

Suddenly, two arms wrapped tightly around Percy from behind. "Forgetting about me and Penelope, Perce?" A voice said cheerfully. "I'm hurt, I thought you loved us!"  
Percy rolled his eyes and looked up. "Yes, I love Penelope, you idiot. And, for some reason, you have my fiancé and entire secret group wrapped around your little finger, tiny flower."  
Fred and George looked up to and saw Harry smiling at all of them. "Harry!" they chorused, "What? Why are you a tiny flower and friends with Percy and his unimaginatively named secret group?"  
"Hmmph. I'll have you know I was a founding member! Percy, you didn't tell them? And you know my animangus form, it's a Cherry Blossom Dragon. Percy likes to make fun of me for being tiny and had no imagination," He pouted at them.  
Fred and George quickly jumped up. "Tiny flower! We don't have a name for your animangus form! Quick, Gred!" Fred cried.  
"Midget...twiggy...spring...wings...leaf...Japan...Poppins!" George spouted off.  
Percy said dryly, "Charlie's already claimed little dragon, and Bill calls him poppin, something about a muggle movie. The entire White Circle calls him Felix, something about ridiculous luck, and Penelope calls him honey or sweetie. Those are all off limits, they'll be upset."  
Fred and George conferred quickly while Percy and Harry waited serenely, Harry sitting next to Percy on the couch. "Leafwing!" Fred proclaimed, "is your new marauder name, and we'll just keep calling you Harrikins or Hare-bear, or sweetheart in dire circumstances. And what do you mean you're a founding member?"  
"Percy contacted me after fourth year over the summer about Voldemort's return. He told me about the Ministry and got my support. I've been supplying information about the Order of the Pheonix and my dreams about Voldemort. That's where I kept disappearing to over the summer, meetings with Percy." He thought for a minute, then said, "he's also been kinda helping Lee with your accounting, it was his idea to have me sign the contract stating I was a silent investor and owned thirty percent of the company." Harry gave Percy another quick hug and smiled at the twins.  
Fred took a deep breath and said sarcastically, "any more life changing revelations, Perce?"  
Percy shifted nervously, and Harry's smile grew brighter. "Actually..." he said quietly, "I'm engaged to Penelope Clearwater..."  
"We already knew that!" George said in relief.  
"...and we're getting married in four hours." Percy finished. "Harry has been after me for years to reunite with you two, and he finally recruited Nico. He basically manhandled to your shop through my terrified paralysis and gave me a calming draught before telling me if you two weren't at my wedding, I'd regret it forever and he'd help Penelope eviscerate me." Percy blushed crimson. "Surprise?"  
Harry bounced up from his seat on the couch. "I brought some of my new friends, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, and Daphne Greengrass, and they have your outfits and are here to help you get ready!" He chirped excitedly. "I'll see you two at the wedding! Come on, Percy!" He opened the flat door for the three Slytherins, who came in with rather predatory looks on their faces, Draco holding two garment bags, and the two girls holding bags that looked suspiciously like hair supplies. He and Percy exited after the three entered, cheerfully abandoning the twins to the tender mercies of the new arrivals.  
"Run!" George whispered to Fred.  
"Oh, no, boys," Daphne cooed, and they heard the swish of a wand locking the door.

**I hope you enjoyed! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I'm thinking about writing an accompanying series of one-shots, that would be different backgrounds, or POV of other characters for a couple parts, that I would post separately. I have some ideas and bits written that wouldn't fit in flow-wise, but I still wanted to write them. I'll probably post it sometime this week/today-ish. And sorry, this might delay some chapters, but I sometimes just need to write something else to be able to focus again on something...so that's what the one shots are, but's I wrote to refocus that I figured some people might enjoy.  
Also, a few quick clarifications:  
Short version: this fic is mostly gen, a few minor background relationships, all canon (I'm 74% sure on that, but I don't care enough to google it. Oh well.)  
Long version: There will be NO pairings of main characters (Nico, Harry, and Draco) because I'm awful at writing relationships. The only pairings I can think of are Percy J/Annabeth, Percy W/Penelope Clearwater...assume canon pairings in PJO/HOO (ignoring Jasper's breakup and Jason's death, of course), and canon pairings for HP (also ignoring Hinny...and the epilogue...and Fred's death...and I might bring back Sirius (in a "veil is not working right possibly because of Nico" kind of way), and I'm of the strong, fervent, passionate opinion that Remus, Tonks, and Teddy all survived and went on an extended tour of America...because I can't handle those deaths either...I just want to be happy, ok? It's FANFICTION, and I can choose...) Sorry, but hope that helped.**


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